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The PraBkal Kitchen Gardiner: 

Or, A New and Entire 

Syftem of Direftions 

For his Employment in the 

M E L O N R 

KITCHEN-GARDEN, 

AND 

POTAGERY, 

In the feveral Seafons of the Year. 

Being chiefly 

The O B s E RYAT I o N s of a Perfon train'd 

up in the Neat-Houfes or Kicchcn-Gardcns 

about London. 
Illuftrated with Plans and Descriptions 

proper for the Situation and Difpofition of 

thofe Gardens. 

To which is added, by way of SUPPLEMENT, 

The Method of Railing Cucumbers and Melons, 
Mushrooms, Borecole, Broccoli, Potatoes, 
and other curious and ufeful Plants, as pradifed in 
France^ Italy ^ Holland and Ireland. 

And alfo. An Account of the Labours and Profits of a 
Kitchen-Garden, and what every Gentleman may rea- 
fonably exped therefrom in every Month of the Year. 

In a Method never yet attempted. 

The Whole Methodiz'd and Improved, 

By STE THEN S W I T Z E R, 

Author of the Practical Fruity Gardiner. 

I Et quas^ Humus e ducat Her bis 
Fortunata fuit . Ovid Metam. XV. 

LONDON: Printed for Tho. Woodward, at the Half-MoQit 
over-againft St. Z)^^?z/?<?7/'s Church in 1727. 



A/ 



TO THE 

RIGHT HONOURABLE 

THE 

Lord BJTHURST, 

Baron of Battle/den^ 

My L o r 

THE firft volume of the Prac-- 
tied Gardiner having been 
honoured in the front of it 
by a Noble Lord in great efteem 
with Your Lordfliip, and all the 
learned worlds I take the liberty of 
prefenting this to Your Lordlhip, 
that I may, as it were at one view, 
pay the greateft relpeft I may ever 
be capable of, to Two of the bell 
A z of 



-DEDICATION. 

of Maflers^ and beft of Friends j 
nor fiiall I fear the ruins of Time 
irfelf^ nor that my fincere endea- 
vours in Gard'ning will not be per- 
petuated to futurity^ when fo high- 
ly ennobled by the very honourable 
names of BOTLE and BATHURSZ 

Neither is this the only in- 
ducement I have had to addrefs 
this Treatife to Your Lordlhip; 
the kind confirudion put upon 
fome former attempts of mine on 
Gardening:, and the great improve- 
ments Your Lordlhip has made in 
that way of thinking, in your no- 
ble and ufeful Villas and Plan- 
t^^tions of Cirencefier and Riskins, 
join'd to that perfonal friendftip 
You have been always pleas'd to 
Ihew me, are fuch great obligations 
as (were Your Lordihip not fo great 
a lover of Gardens aiid Gardmng 

as 



) 

DEDICATION. 

as You are) I could not^, without ex- 
treme injuftice^ difpenfe with my 
Telf without addreffing fome part of 
my Labours on Gardening to You, 

You know (My Lord) how ma- 
ny charms the lovely parts of Agri- 
culture and Gardening afford to 
thofe that purfue them with appli- 
cation and attention ; in that they 
afford us joys which arc altogether 
pure;, and hopes as fweet as nmo- 
c^nt. Nor will this part of it 
(humble and mean as it is) be, 'tis 
hoped, beneath Your Lordfliip's re- 
gard, fince 'tis from This part of 
Gardening that is produced all that 
is genuine and good for the nou- 
rifliment of mankind j the ufe of 
plants being, through the whole 
compafs of life, of that univerfal 
importance and concern, that we 
can neither live nor fiibfift with- 
A 5 out 



DEDICATION. 



out them. Befides which, there 
is alfo, in the raifing of kitchen- 
vegetables, a certain degree of 
knowledge and diverfion, equal, 
if not excelling, what any other 
part of Gardening produces. Nor 
can the Garden afford any thing 
more delightful to view than thofe 
forerts of afparagus, artichokes, let- 
tuce, peafe, beanSj and other le- 
gumes and edulous plants, fo dif- 
ferent in colour, and of fuch va- 
rious fliapes, rifing as it were from 
the dead, and piercing the ground 
in fo many thoufand places as they 
do, courting the admiration, or re- 
quiring the care of the diligent Gar- 
clincr. 

It is a matter of no great im- 
portance to mankind, when I fay 
how much (it being my profeffion) 
Iliave been myfelf charm'd with this 



D ED I C AT I N. 

and other ufefuJ parts of Gardening 5 
were it not added^, that this delight- 
ful employ has alfo found a place 
in Your Lordfhip's heart, and that 
You have Your Self, at all leifure 
times, contributed fo much to its 
honour and advancement : and cer- 
tainly, My Lord, (in juftification 
of the prefent fubjed) if a view 
be taken of the writings of Cato^ 
VarrOy Collumellay Plinj, and other 
celebrated writers of Husbandry and 
Gardening amongft the ancients, 
it will be found that thofc of the 
fruit and kitchen were the chief parts 
known and pradifed amongft them ; 
and to fo high a pitch did they car- 
ry the honour of the Olitory, that 
to fome of its produce they erefted 
altars, whilft for others the ancient- 
eft of their families changed their 
names, ^ and took thofe of herbs 
upon them in their room, 

A 4 And 



DEDICATION. 



And fb great was their tempe- 
rance at that time of day, that bread 
and herbs (with a little fruit) were 
the only dainties wherewith the ta- 
bles of the greateft voluptuaries 
were Ipread. 

Nor were the banquets of that 
ancient happy Pair, any other, even 
in Paradife it felf 

Raised on a gvaff) turf 

The tahle luasy and mojfy feats had rounds 
And on the ample fquare.from fide to fide^ 
All autumn pl d. Ah innocence ! 
Veferving paradife 

And if what the poets have 
heretofore wrote of the golden age^ 
be allow'd to allude to Paradife, 
as many learned men have fup- 
pos'd it does, we have there ajfb 

a con- 



D ED I CAf I ON. 

fo a confirmation of this truth 3 per- 
mit me (My Lord) for oncc^ to 
turn pedagogue, and to remind 
Your Lordfliip of that which your 
early ftudies have long ago furnilli'd 
You wichi and with which I have 
introduced this humble Eflay on 
Gardening. 

At ^etus ilia (Stas^ cut fecimus aurea 
nomeriy 

FruBihus arhoreisy ^ quas humus 

ducat herhis 
Fortunata fuit- 

And may I add what follows^ and 
for an example of the innocence of 
thofe times, and how preferable 
herbs were to all other culinary 
diet. 



Tunc 



D E D I C A r L O N. 



Tunc ^ aws tut as mo'vere per aera 
pefinasj 

Et lepus iynpa^idus mediis erra^vit in 

Nec fua creduUtas pifcem fufpenderat 
hamo. Ovid Metam.XV. 

This, and much more, (My Lord) 
might be produc'd in favour of my 
prefent fubjeft^ and of the panegy- 
rick I have or may advance in fa- 
vour of the Glitory or Kitchen Gar- 
den, but that I fear I lliall difbblige 
the gentlemen of the field, and 
lovers of good eating, (ince that 
would be fetcing afide (if mode- 
rately ufed) fome of the greateft 
advantasies of life ; nor is what has 
been thus related, on -any other ac- 
count than to fliew the bleffed ef-^ 
tefts of temperance, and with how 
little nature and a civil appetite 
may be contented. What 



D E D I C AT I M 



What thofe happy and blefled 
ciFeds are, few there are that can 
defcribe (b well as Your Lordlhip^ 
'tis this (My Lord) which makes 
You happy in Your Self, happy 
in Your Family^ and happy in Your 
Friends. 

I know (My Lord) that it v/ould 
be too painful for Your Lordfliip to 
be entertained with a long enume- 
ration of thofe perfections which 
have given You fo great a ftiarc in the 
efteem of mankind 5 nor will it be 
expcded that a Gardiner Ihould en- 
tertain You with any long difcourfe^ 
except that of his art, and the feli- 
cities that attend it i but pardon 
me. My Lord, if the love and ho- 
nour I have for Your Lordlhip 
tranfports me a little into a ftiort fur- 
vey of what all che world (that know 
You) muft juftly allow. If 



DEDICATION. 



If a fofc and fincere addrefi^ and 
a pleafing chearfulnefs towards thofe 
that have an efteem and value for You 5 
and an undilTembledcourtefy to thofe 
few 3 if any there are that can be fo 
unjuft as to be your enemy j if a 
hearty and fincere love for yourcoun^- 
try^ and a generous concern for the 
good cf all mankind, be the orna- 
ments of a publick and private life, 
none there are which enjoy them in 
a more eminent degree than Your 
Lordfliip does. 

'Tis from fuch examples (My 
Lord ) we are informed, that an in- 
genuous, fofc deportment, a ferious 
attention to every thing commend- 
able and praife-worthy, a retirement 
into fields and gardens, and a con- 
templation on the ftupendious works 
of nature, are not inconfiflent with 

the 



DEDICATION. 

the cliarader of a well-bred gen- 
tleman that real honour confifts 
not in that hedor and buftle which 
its miftaken votaries fuppofe it does^ 
but that to be truly honourable^ is 
to be fbber, juft and good^ affable 
and courteous to all with whom 
You have any intercourfe 5 and 
may 1 enlarge my thoughts^ and 
give them but a reafonable Icope, 
lure I am^ that that Roman Wor- 
thy who (lands fo high in the re- 
cords of antiquity^ was never more 
the delight of thofe with whom he 
convers'dj, than Your Lordlliip i^. 

This noble example of Your 
Lordflup's redoubles the paffion I 
have of addrefling this Treatife to 
You; and would carry me much 
further, but that I fear I have gone 
farther already than Your Lordfliip 
will approve o£ 



( i ) 



THE 

PREFACE. 

AS the ufefulnefs and delights of 
the Garden are daily receiving 
fuch very great additions, both 
from the pens and pradice of many of its 
induftrious and learned profefTors, amongfl: 
the nobility, gentry and clergy, I judg'd I 
could not better employ my time ( next to 
duties of a much higher nature) as a Gar- 
diner, than to throw in my endeavours, 
and contribute, as much as I polfibly could, 
towards the farther improvement of this 
fo ufefiil an employ, at leifure times, and 
when I might, perhaps, as well as others, 
be much worfe employed ; and this not 
only as it is my profeflion and employ, but 
as it is my particular ftudy and delight; 
towards which the authors I have read, 
and the obfervations I have and am every 

a day 



m PREFACE, 



day making, from men and things, has, I 
hope, made me in fome degree equal. 

By wav of Preface, or Introdiidion then, 
to this ufefjl part of Card'ning, it is pro- 
per I fliould acquaint the reader, that moft 
of the following papers were obfervations 
made by a young man, now Gardiner to 
a Nobleman, and fent by him up to the 
neat-houfe gardens for his improvement; 
a copy of which I obtain'd from him, 
which lav long bv me without any thoughts 
of publidiing them, till I found that of the 
Fruit Garden was fo well received ; at 
which time alfo I was given to underftand 
of what ufe this Second Part would be 
to thofe that bought the Firft, which would 
make it a perfed Syftem of DirectionSy in 
xh^ Fruit dnd Kitchai Garden-, fo chain'd 
together, that even the moft unknowing 
and unwary might be inftruded in all the 
parts of this very ufeful employ. 

For alrho' the ancients, as Cato, Varro^ 
Colhmella^ and others, have long ago treat- 
ed on this fubjed with great skill and ap- 
plication, and which has been copied by 
many authors of our own and other coun- 
tries, intermix'd and fcatter'd up and down 
as they are, amongft other writings on 
Gardening, yet there are none (that I at 



The P R E FA C E. 



leaft ever met with) which treated of it in 
fuch a method and manner as may dired; 
thofe that are beginning to learn, with fuc- 
cefi. Befides, that of the Kitchen (as v/ell 
as other parts of Gardening) has been fo 
wonderfully improved Vv'ithin thefe few years^ 
that were it poffible for any of thofe vete- 
ran apron-men to tread this ftage of labour 
and induftry again, they would find them- 
felves at a great lofs how to proceed in 
their art, as it is now manageci ; when the 
winter, and almoft all times and {eafons of 
the year, are furnifli'd with curiofities which 
they thought could be had only in the 
fummer, and more benign months of the 
year. To this may be added likewife (or 
which is indeed a part of what I have been 
before obferving) the great improvement 
made in hot-beds, and glaffes the forcing 
vegetables in fijch a manner as to eat near as 
well as when they come natural ; the great 
variety there is of new-difcover'd plants 
and feeds; and laft of aU, the great encou- 
ragement given by the nobility and gentry 
of thefe kingdoms, towards the accelerat- 
ing of garden vegetables, put, I (ay, toge- 
ther, change the very nature of the anci- 
ent's pradice in the Olitory, and makes 
it now the moft philofophical as well as 

a z moft 



The P R E FA C B. 



moft ufeful part of Gard'ning whatfo- 
ever. 

Had the knowledge and myftery of rai{^ 
ing melons, cucumbers, afparagus, peafe, 
common and kidney beans, colly Bowers, 
fruit, S^c. in thofe early m.onths of the year, 
been known in ancient times (as now they 
are) how greatly would they have gloried, 
even in foils and climates much better than 
ours ? but now, to the immortal honour of 
our prefent Kitchen Gardiners, we fee the 
great inclemency of our climate regulated, 
and nature taught, by their induftrious 
hands, to outdo herfelf, when we behold 
the oifspring of the melonry and potagery 
jRourifhing, and the unwearied and laborious 
Gardiner undaunted, even in the midft of 
the fevered weather that can happen. 

The truth of the matter is, whoever 
will give himfelf the pains to trace a good 
Gardiner thro' the feveral ftages of his em- 
ploy, in all the feafons of the year, will 
rind it to be one continued circle of la- 
bour and toil ; in one part of it he will be 
feen perpetually covering and uncovering 
of his infant care, with mats, ftraw, long 
dung, and the like, during the winter 
months ; and at another feafon as vigorous 
in defending himfelf from thofe pernicious 



The P R E FA C E. 

and cutting blafts and winds that happen 
in the fpring. 

At a third feafon, you will fee him open- 
ing his drains to fecure hinifelf from thofe 
impetuous floods that fall in the fummer ; 
and by and by plying the water-pot with 
an equal vigour, to fatisfy his thirfty plants 
from the fcorchings of the autumn ; fo 
that were a foreigner (from a climate more 
fettled than this is) to be here, what a la- 
byrinth would he find himfelf in for a great 
while ? 

Nor is it hard labour alone that will do ; 
that great variety of feeds, and the diffe- 
rent feafons in which they are to be fbwn, 
the different pofitions and foils for Gar- 
dens, added to a continual preparation 
and forefight for what may befall him, how 
he fliall fupply the kitchen in this, that, 
or the other part of the year ; and with 
what he fliall fill this, that, or the other 
divifion or quarter, when the crop that is 
now on is gone off; all thefe, I (ay, muft be 
the labour of the brain, and the effed of 
due confideration only; and indeed, upon 
due refledions on this affair, I can't help 
confidering a good Gardiner both as a phi- 
lofopher and a politician, and one whofe 
employ ought to place him very near the 
a j eye 



The P R E FA C E, 

eye and favour of his mafter, and above 
that ill ufage with which they commonly 
meet. 

I remember to have read fomewhere, 
in the v/orks of Collumellay one of the moft 
knov/ing husbandmen among the antients, 
a paragraph to the following effed. 

" It is our own fault ((ays he) that the 
" bufincfs of agriculture happens (o ill as 
" often it does, becaufe we generally com- 
" mit the care of our aftairs to fomc very 
" bad fervants, regarding, and I may add 
" often ufins him, however skilful or un- 
" skilful, knowing or unknowing he is in 
" his employ, as if he were a butcher or a 
" hangman;" for in both thefe fenfes I 
think the word carnijex is ufed. Let me 
put it down in CoUumella's own words, as 
near as I can remember them, having not 
the book by me, " Fitio noflro cignciilUira 
" male cedtt^ qm rem mfikam pejfimo cut- 
" que fervorum veht carnijici, nox^e dedi- 
" mns. And certain it is from experience, 
that too many mafters have no more re- 
gard for a good Gardiner than they have 
perhaps for a dog-boy ; at bed, he muft 
be fubjed to the ill treatment of any reign- 
ing parafite, or thofe that get their living 
by tales or tale-bearing, and often by fome- 

thing 



The PREFACE. 



thing that is worfc. Bat of this no more, 
it being not worth while to bellow much 
pen, ink and paper about fach worth- 
lefs mercenaries. 

But to proceed from this general intro- 
duction and furvey of Kitchen Gardening, 
and the improvements made in it in this 
age, and I may add, in this Treatife ; give 
me leave to be a little more particular in 
the enumeration of them. 

Who then, till within thefe few years, 
could have imagin'd that the cucumber, 
which feldom was feen heretofore (even 
fince my remembrance, who have not been 
above twenty four or twenty five years a 
praditioner in Gardening) till the middle, 
or perhaps the latter end of May^ feldom 
the beginning, that are now produced in 
and about London^ andfeveral places in the 
country, in the beginning of March ; and 
the induftrious among the Gardiners are 
fcill Arriving to outvie one another, and will 
in all probability produce them in February ^ 
or fooner ; and that as good or better than 
they have in any of the fucceeding months, 
when they have lefs time to tend them. 

The melon has likewife met with very 
great improvements, both as to their good- 
nefi and earlinefs j the firft indeed is ow- 
a 4 ing 



The P R E FA C E. 

ing to the correfpondence that the nobili- 
ty and gentry of Great Britain (that now 
equal, if not much excel the French and 
Dutch in their curious collections of feed) 
have abroad; but the fecond is owing to 
the induftry and skill of our Kitchen Gar- 
diners only, who are now behind no coun- 
try in tieir performances. Heretofore it 
was counted a rare thing to cut melons 
by the middle of June^ or perhaps the lat- 
ter end, tho' now the latter end of Aprils 
or beginning of Maj'y is the feafon for the 
fir ft crop. 

And as the fruits that ^row in the 
Kitchen Garden are fo much more accele- 
rated now than they VvTue heretofore, fo 
are the legumes and herbacious rooted plants, 
the coUyflower in particular, that never 
fliew'd its beautifiil head above three or 
four months in the year, appears now above 
fix or feven, farnifhing the tables of the 
curious all that while with its wholefome 
nourifliment ; and by good management 
mocks the feverity of our unfteady cli- 
mate. 

The phafeoluSy or kidney bean, that 
ufed not (but was thought too tender) to 
be Town till the beginning or middle of 
Al)nlj is now, by the means of frames and 

glafles. 



7he PREFACE. 

glallcs, and that with little trouble, fown 
in January and February ; and the fruit (if 
It mav be To called) which ufed to be fit 
to gather heretofore not till the middle of 
June^ is now fit for the table bv the begin- 
ning or middle of April and wdiich is 
more, bv the great skill and improvement 
of our indufcrious Gardiners it continues a 
conitant and moft ufefiil difli for every 
week in the vear between that and the 
beginning of OBober. 

Even peafe and beans, that were hereto- 
fore the produce but of two or three 
months, fiirnifli the table with an agree- 
able difli for feven or eight ; ^viz, from A- 
pril to almoft Chrifimas ; fo expert are our 
Gardiners now in the retardation of the 
produce of the Garden, as well as in the 
brin^-in^ of it m early. 

It would be endlefs for me to enume- 
rate the improvements that have been made 
in lettuce, and all other falletings ; but the 
raifing the afparagus and artichoke, efpe- 
ciallv the firfr, has been the moft advanced 
of any one vegetable the garden produces", 
and even at Chrifimas, that which is near 
as green and as good as that which comes 
by nature ; Gardiners not keeping them fo 
dole now as (by miftake) they formerly did. 

I might 



Ihe T R E FA C £. 



I tnight ftill produce much more m ]u(- 
tification of the iiiduftrv of the prefcnt 
race of Gar diners, and the improvements 
they have made in this particular part of 
Gardening ; but herein I would not be un- 
derftood to include that number of wan- 
dering fellows, who with a little know- 
ledge, but a great deal of impudence, in- 
vade thefc Southern climates, and by ferv- 
ing for little wages deceive thofe that are 
fo weak and unwife as to hire them, with 
an afliirance of doing mighty things. 

But as I have taken thcfc gentlemen to 
task in another treatife, I (hall leave them 
to themfelves now, and, to carry the ac- 
quifition and induil:ry of the prefent age 
farther, (hall obferve that the improvements 
that have been thus made are chiefly the 
refult of practice, and not altogether by 
books. 

For tho' the works of that laborious and 
ingenious Gardiner Moniieur De la Onin- 
tinje^ and of Mr. Evelyn, and others that 
have followed his fteps, are juftly allowed 
to be the bell: of this kind that have yet 
been publilhed ; yet if it be confidered 
how different that climate he wrote in is 
from ours, it will be no wonder that wc 
differ from him in fome particukrs, not be- 
ing 



The P RE FA C E, 

ing able, till now, without great iiiduftry 
and expence, to etfecl thofe things in this 
cold uncertain region, that he could in 
FrancCy and where he had the purfe of a 
prince, as he tells us, that made his Gar- 
dens one of the greateft felicities and glo- 
ries of his reign ; and who was never bet- 
ter pleas'd than when he was walking and 
contemplating in them, and that fpared no 
pains in the procuring of every thing that 
was the beft and earlieft in its kinds. Ne- 
verthelefs, where opportunity gives leave, 
I have taken the fame liberty of raifing 
plants and legumes early, on warm fituated 
borders and hot-beds, as he has done, and 
given what direftions I could for their cul- 
ture and prefervation, there efpecially where 
the foil is by nature (andy and warm, or is 
fo made by art or induftry ; and to this 
indeed the great induftry and practice of 
our Neathoufe-men and Gardiners have 
not a little contributed; fo that now we 
feem to bid fair towards the outdoing the 
French and other countries, in the early 
produdions of our Fruit-Gardens and Pota- 
gery. 

But to go on with the thread of this 
Prefice : It muft be obferved alfo that the 
laborious gentleman we have juft named is 

too 



7he PREFACE. 

too fhort and concife in his inftmdions re- 
lating to the raifing of melons, and feveral 
other things ; all which I have endeavour- 
ed amply to fupply, and not to omit a rule 
that may tend to the making this Treatife 
as ufefiil and pradical as I could, having 
always had an eye rather on the pradice 
of Gardening, than on the precepts deli- 
vered in print ; and tho' it will unavoidably 
fall out that I muft make ufe of the (ame 
methods that many authors before me have 
done, yet it will, I hope, appear by the 
following iheets, that pradice it fclf had 
the greateft fliare in the guidance of my 
pen. 

And to make it as ufeful as I could to 
all degrees of my readers, I have in the firfl; 
place begun with a (hort account of the 
appellation, etymology or derivation, and 
the virtues and properties of thofe kitchen 
and diftillory plants I treat of, and of their 
ufes, whether defigned for the kitchen or 
laboratory ; and direded the gardiner, houfe- 
keeper and cook, to thofe places where 
they will find them more largely treated o^ 
and that in books of our own languages 
I mean the incomparable and laborious 
works of Gerard and Parkmfon, which 
will give li^ht to what has been fo long 
2 _ wanted^ 



7he PREFACE. 

wanted, I mean their being referr'd to their 
proper tribes and claffes, and to fuch au- 
thors and herbals as have indubitably fee 
their names, virtues and properties in a true 
light, becaufe I have long obferved hov^ 
many good Gardtners have laboured in the 
dark, and for v^ant of inftruftions of this 
kind, have with great difficulty been ac- 
quainted with the very fpecies of thofe 
plants they are obliged every day to culti- 
vate and preferve ; and therefore no won- 
der that they often miftake one herb and 
plant for another ; and if this happens to 
Gardiners that are more experienced, what 
may not be expected from thofe that are 
juft entring upon their employ ? 

It is this Mr. Evelyn long ago cautioned 
againft when he confutes that common 
maxim, That a fool was as good a gatherer 
of a feUet as a wifer man j becaufe ((ay they) 
one can hardly choofe amifs, provided the 
herbs be young, tender and green : For fad 
experience ((ays that eminent author) (hews 
how many fatal miftakes have been com- 
mitted by thofe that have took the deadly 
cicuta^ hemJock, aconites^ &c, for garden 
parfley and parfnips ; the myrrha fylveJlriSy 
or cow- weed for ch^rophillumy or chervil ; 
thapjia for fennel ; the wild chndrilla for 

fuccory; 



7he PREFACE. 

fuccory ; papaver corniculatim Inteum^ or 
horned poppey, for cringo ; o^nanthe aqua- 
ticUy for the paluftral apium ; and a world 
more, whofe dire effeds have been many 
times (iidden death, and the caufe of mor- 
tal accidents to thofe who have eaten them 
unwarily. 

Nor can it ('tis prefumed) be thought 
any way inconfiftent with practice, that the 
Gardiner have fome idea of the theory of 
his art, and the names, etymologv, virtue 
and properties of his plants ; verv certain it 
is that the dipping into books of this kind 
has brought over many to the delight of 
Gardenino;, that othersvife would never 
have made a ftep towards it ; and it is to 
the laborious endeavours of Mr. Evelyn and 
others in this way that more profelvtes have 
been drawn over to the profelTion of gar- 
dening, than to all the books of plain 
diredions only that have ever been printed ; 
and happy fliall I be if any thing I can ad- 
vance mav add to the number, fince kitchen 
gardening, tho' very ufefiil in it felf, is yet 
a dry and mean ftudy, as well as a dirty 
employ, unlefs it be enlivened with attempts 
and endeavours of this nature. 

But to reftime the thread of my Preface : 
the want of fome rnxoderate decree of learn- 



'Ihe PREFAC E, 



ing, and the unwillingncfs that naturally is 
in niany Gardiners to look back on authors 
and books that relate to their profellion, 
cannot be enough lamented, becaufe they 
might at all leifure hours, and when their 
time is too often but indiftercntly employed, 
improve themfelves by reading the works 
of thofe men of learning and judgment that 
have gone before, in order to try farther 
experiments, and reduce all to pradice. 

A Cato^ Varro^ and Collumella^ in what 
language foever amongft the antients; a 
Bacon, Evelyn, and a Piatt, with many 
others amongft the moderns, with thofe 
books and herbals that have given an ac- 
count of the names, properties, and virtues 
of plants, would improve their minds, and 
implant a much greater love and affedion 
to their employs, than generally is found 
amongft them ; in fliort, it would not on- 
ly improve their minds, but their difpofi- 
tions, I had almoft {aid manners too, and 
reduce them into fuch an ceconomy as 
would make them fit company for men of 
fenfe and learning ; on the contrary, how 
often do we fee fome of them (in good 
places too) that never open a book ; nor 
can they either read, fpell, or pronounce 
rightly, the very plants and herbs they eve- 
2 ry 



The P R E FA C E. 

ry moment have in view; and then no 
wonder if many ufeful kinds of plants ^re 
totally negleded and forgotten by theni. 
The fpir^a frutex^ is bv fome the fiery 
froftive, and the ch^rophylhm^ cartfoyle. 
Nor would it, I humbly prefume, be oat 
of the purpofe, if gentlemen of eftates 
would choofe out fuch amongft their te- 
nants and farmers fons, as appear to have 
fome degree of capacity and underftand- 
ing, or choofe fome honeft, clean-looking 
boy, out of a charity or other fchool, and 
take him an apprentice for this purpofc, 
having firft initiated him well in the rudi- 
ments of learning, and furniflied him with 
books proper for fuch occafions ; this mufl 
certainly in time much mend the breed of 
Gardiners, and difcourage thofe numbers 
of icrnorant ftrollers that wander about, def- 
titute of every thing but impudence ; whilft 
others of good capacity are perhaps put 
to coblers, flioemakers or weavers, that 
might have made ingenious Husbandmen 
and Gardiners, ufefiil in their generation, 
and proper for the improvements of their 
country. 

However fliort and concife I have been 
in this part of my undertaking, I have, as 
the follov/ing Treatife will evince, been 

very 



The P R E FA C E. 



xvii 



very large and copious in the prafbice of 
it, having, for my better method in the 
delivery of what follows^ divided it into 
ten fedions, that refer in a great meafure 
to the feed catalogues that are publifli'd 
for the benefit of gardiners and learners 
in this employ ; to which is added, a Ca* 
talogue it felf, and a monthly Calendar^ 
as a direftory to the whole : concluded by 
a Supplement, containing a farther expla- 
nation of the foregoing work, and a fliorc 
account of what every gentleman, that has 
his garden well managed, may reafonably 
exped in all feafons of the year. 

The firft fedion treats of the choice of 
foils, fituation, water j &c. proper for a 
kitchen garden. The fecond, relates to 
thofe fruits that are raifed in the kitchen, 
garden, as melons, cucumbers^ gourds, 
The third, to all the herbacious-rooted or 
boiling kinds, as coUyfiowers, cabbages, &l\ 
The fourth, to all elculent-rooted plants, as 
carrotSj parfnips, and skirrets. The fifth, 
to all kinds of legumes, as peafe, beans, 
and other pulfe that are admitted into the 
kitchen. The fixth, to thofe herbs that 
are defigned for the pot, kitchen and diftil- 
lary. And in the, four laft of all, the Seed- 
catalogue and Calendar, as above mention'd, 
with the Supplement, 

b In 



xviii 



The P k E F A C B. 



In all which I have chdeavoUr'd to pro- 
ceed with all the mech6d and clearnefs I 
am mafter of; (o that I hope I have made 
my felf intelligible to the meaneft of itiy 
readers, having ftudied plainneifs of ftile in 
all the rules I have laid down, rather than 
the putting it into any artificial drefi ; and 
if the homelinefi of the language, and 
manner of didion be not fo florid as in o- 
thers, it will, I hope, meet wath fome ex- 
cufe from all fincere and caildid readers, 
who confider how diladvantageoufly one of 
my profeflion muft appear in this point ; 
and fufficiently anfwer the ends I have aim- 
ed at in the publication of this treatife ; I 
mean the gratification of the defires of the 
kboiious and good-natur'd, and the making 
it as ufefiil as I can for the entertainment 
and (atisfadion of a very curious and indus- 
trious age. 

But to conclude, I might farther recom- 
mend the ufefiilnefs and diverfion that this 
point of Gardening affords, previous to 
any other, and how much greater in efteem 
the produce of the Olitory or Kitchen- 
Garden has been heretofore, in comparifon 
of butcher'd animals, and the fwifr pro- 
duce of the river and field ; but as this is 
4one in a very elaborate manner by Mr. 



7he P RE FA C E. 

Evelyn^ in his Acetdridy I fliall not en- 
large upon it^ or repeat it again. 

I might alfo have confiderably enlarged 
upon the properties and ufes of herbs, fal* 
lets, and other edulous and hortulan pro- 
ductions, in all medicinal and phyfical cafes, 
and how greatly they contribute to the 

f prolongation of life ; but that I am con- 
cious I have already exceeded the juft li- 
mits of a Preface, on which account I 
(hall add no more than what the judicious 
Mr. Ray^ in his Hiftory of Plants, fets 
downs. 

The ufe of plants (fays he) is alt our life 
long of that nniverfal importance and con- 
cern, that we can neither live nor fubfifl in 
my plenty, with decency and convenienee, or 
be faid indeed to live at all, without them ; 
whatfoever contributes to delight and refrejh 
us, are fnpplfd and brought forth out of 
this plentiful md delightful ftore (f the Gar- 
den. And oh 1 how much more innocent, 
fweet and healthful is a table covefd with 
thefe, than with all the reaking fejh of 
hutchefd and Jlaughtefd animals! which, 
I may add, fill mankind with all thofe dif- 
cafes that, added to the misfortune of our. 
climate, are the difinal occafion of fodden 
death, at leaft, of a life ftiort uncer- 
b tain^ 



thePREFACE. 

tain i whilft herbs cool and alky the in* 
flammations of the ftomach and blood, 
ftrengthen and corroborate the brain, and 
are of the utmoft ufe in all difeafes, whe- 
ther chronical or acquired. 

To all this may be added, what is juft 
hinted at in the preliminary pages of this 
Treatife, the delightful profped of a 
kitchen garden in the fpring (as Mr. De la 
§}uintinje paints it) when almoft all the 
earth is covered over with a new decora- 
tion of infant plants \ here we fee arti- 
chokes rifing as it were from the dead; 
and there afparagus piercing the ground in 
a thouGmd places; here we fliould with 
pleafure obferve cabbage lettuces wind 
themfelves up into round balls ; and there 
multitudes of legumes and green herbs, fo 
different in colour, and (b various in their 
(hape, that a contemplative man can't but 
ftand ftill with wonder and amazement; 
thefei thefe! are the innocent and natu- 
ral dainties, where they prefent themfelves 
and grow for the nourifliment and delicious 
entertainment of human kind. 



THE 



THE \ 

CONTENTS 

" Of the fcveral 

SECTIONS and CHAPTERS 

Contained in 

The Praftical Kitchen Gardiner. 

THE Preface, or Introduction^ 
fapplying the place ^Chap. I. Page i 

SECTION L 

CHAP, 11. 

Of the choice of a fituation and foil {to 
which is prefixed a plan) pr(^er for the 
difiribution of a kitchen garden* page i 

b 3 CHAP, 



The CONTENTS, 



CHAP. III. 

Of the foil particular to all kinds cf vege-. 
tables, and its improvement. i j 

CHAP. IV. 

Of the different culture proper for kitchen 
herbs and plants. 16 

C H A P. V. 

Of water, its ufes and conveniencies in a 
garden, and an account of the beft kinds 
of It. 5 5 

SECTION II. 

CHAP. VI. 

Of melons, encumbers, pumpkins, gourds. Sec. 
their appellations, and kinds. 47 

CHAP. VII. 

Of the fitnation proper for a melonry. 

CHAP. VIII. 

Of melon feed, its properties, age, manner 
of faving and keeping. 58 

CHAP. 



The C Q N T E N T S. 



C H A P. IX. 

Of the time and method of fo^jiwg mion 
Jiedy making the hot-bedy ctdture after 
fowingy ficc. 6^ 

CHAP, xr 

Of the tranfplanting them out of the feed 
into the nurfery-bed, fbadingy wateringy 
giving them frefi earthy airy &c. 6^ 

CHAP. XL 

Of the making ridgeSy tranfplantingy wa- 
teringyjhadmgy and pruning of melotiSy bcc. 

CHAP. XII. 

Of the properties of good melons. $ j 

CHAP. XIII. 

Of the cucumber. 96 

CHAP. XIV. 

Of the method of making hot-beds for cu- 
cumbers, Sec. 100 



U4 CHAP. 



The CONTENTS. 



CHAP. XV. 

Of the feed of cucumbers, its age, proper-' 
ties. Sec. loi 

CHAP. XVI. 

Of the time of fo^^zing the firfl cucumbers. 

104 

CHAP. XVII. 

Of the ridging of cucumbers. 108 

CHAP. XVIII. 

Of the citrul, calabaflj, or citrul cucumber. 

"3 

CHAP. XIX. 
Of the pumpion, or pumpkin. 1 1 j 

C H A P. XX. 
Of the gourd. 116 

SECTION III. 

CHAP. XXI, 

Of herbacious and fibrous-rooted plants. 1 1 Si 

CHAR 



The C O N T E N T S. 

CHAP. XXII. 

OJ the colly fiower, cabbage, &cc. nc, 

CHAP. XXIII, 

Of the Ruffia, Batterfea, and other cab- 
bages. iz8 

CHAP; XXIV. 
Of the favoy, winter colewort, &cc. 230 

CHAP. XXV, 
Of the borecole, broccoli, &CC. 134 

CHAP. XXVI. 
Of the beet. 138 

CHAP. XXVII. 
OJ Jpinach, or Jpinage. 542 

CHAP. XXVIIL 
OJ the garden mallows. 14 j 

CHAP. XXIX. 
Cf garden forrel 149 

I CHAP. 



The C O N N T S, 



CHAP. XXX. 
Of the articheaux^ er artichsk. ijr 

CHAP. XXXI. 

Of the earduus efculentus, or Spanifli car- 
doon. x6o 

CHAP. xxxn. 

Of the ajparagus, and its culture. 

CHAP. XXXIII. 

Of the raijing of afparagus very early- 
early. ijz 

SECTION IV. 

CHAP. XXXIV. 

Of thofe efculent or bulbous-rotted plants, 
&CC. that are raifd in kitchen gardens, 

CHAP. XXXV, 
0/ the parfnip, carrot, &:e, 18} 

CHAP. XXXVL 
Of the radijh. i<f^if 

CHAP 



The CONTENT S. 

CHAP. XXXVII, 

Of the fcorzonera, Hifpanica, and common 
fdgy. ic,6 

CHAP. XXXVIII. 
Of the turnep. ijj^ 

CHAP. XXXIX. 

Of the onion, garlick, roccambo, &c. 205 

CHAP. XL. 
Of the skirret. iia 

CHAP. XLI. 
Of the potato, or battata. 217 

SECTION V- 

CHAP. XLII. 

Of legumes, as peafe, beans, &c. no 

CHAP.- XLIII. 
OJ the bean. 425 

CHAP. XLIV. 

Of garden peafe. ii? 

CHAP. XLV. 

Of the pbafeolus, kidney-bean. z^s 

CHAP, 



The CONTENTS. 

SECTION VI. 

CHAP. XLVI. 
Of unboild or raw fallets, 242, 

CHAP. XLVIL 

A lift of the fever al herbs proper to be ufed 
in f diets ^ with their mamer of preparing. 

244 

C IH A P. XLVIIL 

Of Jelleryy {or cellery) alifanders^ fennel, fuc- 
" eory, endive, and other falkts that are 
whitened or blanched. 1^6 

CHAP. XLIX. 
Of garden fuccory^ endive, &cc. 2^4 

C H A P. L. 

Of the lettuce, and other cooUngfallets. 160 

CHAP. LI. 

Of mint, tarragon, and other fallet herbs 
that fiand many years without renewing^ 
their fmall leaves being only cut in the 
fpring, . 

CHAP. LIT. 
Of fever al falletings that are eat in the feed 
leaves, almojl as foon as the feed is comt 
up, zj'i 

CHAP. 



The CONTENTS, 

CHAP. LIIL 

Of the feafons proper for every kind of faU 
kt'herby the quantity to be nfedy &c. 384 

CHAP. LIV. 

Of the gatherings d^^JP^S^ wajhing of 
fallets. zSj 

SECTION VIL 

CHAP. LV. 

Of fweet herbsy &:c. for the ufe of the 
kitchen and laboratory. i^o 

CHAP. LVL 
Of pot-herbs. z^z 

CHAP. LVIL 
Of forreJy bnglofs^ borrage^ orach^ ^^'^fy^ 
and other fottage and phyj7cal herbs, z^ 8 

CHAP. LVHL 
Of fuch herbs as are required to be raifed 
in a garden for the ufe of the laboratory^ 
diftillory^ &c. 507 

SECTION VIIL 

CHAP. LIX. 

Of the mujhroom, its etymology ^ dec, 5x1 

CHAR 



The C O N T E N T S. 

CHAP. LX. 

Of the method of raifmg mtijlmoms, 525 

CHAP. LXL 

Of tn0es^ and other fnhterraneous fungus,- 
tubers, 550 

CHAP. LXII. 

A catdogne of feeds, plants^ &:€. for the 
life of a kitchen garden. 335 

CHAP. LXIII. 

Of kitchen garden feeds ; a general account 
of their ff routings fhaftSy &:c. 337 

SECTION IX. 

CHAP. LXIV. 

An ahflraci of monthly directions in the 
kitchen garden^ taken from the practice of 
the neathoufe-mtn and kitchen gardimrs 
sihmit London. 54^ 

CHAP. LXV. 
Oifervtttions and directions for January. 3 4/ 

CHAP. LXVI. 

ObfervMions mddireBiom ^February. 348 

CHAP. 



The C O N T E N T S. 



CHAP. LXVII. 

Ohfervations and dtreBions for March. 3 5 o 

CHAP. LXVIII. 
Ohfervations and direttions for k^iil. 3 j j 

CHAP. LXIX. 
Ohfervations and direBions for May. 354 

CHAP. LXX. 

Ohfervations and directions for ]\xnc. 356 

CHAP. LXXI. 

Ohfervations and directions for July. 3 j 8 

CHAP. LXXII. 
Ohfervations and directions for Auguft. 3 5 9 

CHAP. LXXIII. 
Obfervatims and directions for Septemb. 3 (fo 

CHAP. LXXIV. 

Ohfervations and directions for October. 5 6 1 

CHAP. LXXV. 

Ohfervations and directions forHoysnh. 5 6l 

CHAP. LXXVI. 

Ohfervations and directions for Decemb. 3 <> 3 

CHAP. Lxxvn. 

An account of tloe adjoining flan, 

J. IN 



The C O N T E N T S. 

I N T H E 

SUPPLE M E NT. 

SECTION X. 

CHAP. LXXVIir. 

The method of raijing melons and cucumbers 
very early ; as alfo mnjhrooms, borecole, 
broccoli^ potatoes, and other nfeful roots 
and plants, as pr adits' d in¥ imccy Italy, 
Holland and Ireland. 56^9 

C H A P. LXXIX. 

Of federal incidental works ; of that regu- 
lar care that ought to be taken by a kitchen 
gar diner ; and of the method whereby a 
gentleman may judge of the management 
of his garden. 385 

C H A P/ LXXX. 

An account of the produce that every gen- 
tleman may reafonably expeEi from the 
good management of his kitchen garden, 
m all feafons of the year, 410 



THE 



i 




\ 



The Practical 

Kitchen Gardiner 



S EC T. I. CHAP. 11. 



Of the general choice of a Jittution and 
foil proper for the kitchen garden. 




E RT A I N it is> that the kitchen 



garden requires the warmeft fitu- 



ation and the richefl: foil that a- 
ny garden doeS;, whether we confider 
it as it ought to produce the quickefl: 
growth of vegetables, or the preferva- 
tion of thofe kinds that are yet young^ 
and tender j and yet there are fome kinds 
(efpecially later legumes, and many of 
the efculentSj) that do befi: in an open 
air, and on a moderate foil, rather in- 
clinable to be lean than fat, and fandy 
than dungy, or any otherwife rich and 
rank. 

The fame may be faid as to the fitua- 
tion of a kitchen garden, whether low 



B 



or 



The Practical 

Kitchen Gardiner 



S EC T. I. CHAP. 11. 



Of the general choice of a Jituation and 
foil proper for the kitchen garden. 




E RT A I N it is^ that the kitchen 



garden requires the warmeft fitu- 



ation and the richeft foil that a- 
ny garden does, whether we confider 
it as it ought to produce the quickeft 
growth of vegetables, or the preferva- 
tion of thofe kinds that are yet young^ 
and tender 5 and yet there are fome kinds 
(efpecially later legumes, and many of 
the efculents,) that do beft in an open 
air, and on a moderate foil, rather in- 
clinable to be lean than fat, and fandy 
than dungy, or any otherwifc rich and 
rank. 

The fame may be faid as to the fitua- 
tion of a kitchen garden, whether low 



B 



or 



The TraStical Kitchen Gardiner. 



or high, whether on the fide of a hill^ 
or on low moift ground i legumes, ef- 
culent, and many other of the herbace- 
ous kinds, affeding upland, dry, and 
airy pafture 5 while the Brajjica cabbage 
and collyflower profpers beft in marifh 
moift land : And others there are that 
love a fituation between both, as does 
the afparagus, artichoke, and the like. 
All which will be more particularly 
confidered in one of the chapters fuc- 
ceeding this. 
0/ the fi. * In general a declining plane about 
tmim. inch in ten foot fall, is the moft 
proper for a kitchen garden, lying 
open to the Southern expofition, and 
divided into three feveral levels, for 
herbs and fruits of different kinds, as 
nature and confervation {hall beft direft, 
with a river or rivulet running at the 
bottom 5 and towards the illuftration of 
which, I have adjoined the following 
plan. 

0/ foil in Many have been the obfervations and 
gumraU diredions concerning thofe earths and 
foils that have been judged moft proper 

* Faelix horti pofitio eft cui leniter incllnata planities 
minimus curfus aquae fluentis per fpatia difcreta derivat. 
'iaUcid. de re mpc lib.i. p. 33. 

for 



The Traciicai Kitchen Gardiner. i 

for fruits and legumes of all kinds; 
and about and for which, there have 
been arguments, and many long and 
learned difcourfes, and very curious and 
elaborate preparations fet down, but the 
kitchen is of fo extenfive a nature, that 
tho* we may indulge our felves on ac- 
count of the fruits, yet wc muft be con- 
tent with almofl: what foil we can find, 
with very little emendation befides that 
of the ftable and the fpade j on which 
account, after ail that has been faid as 
to fituation and foil, the owner Choald 
choofe a good warm place, where the 
foil is deep and clear, tho' it be de- 
tach'd and fet apart at fome diftance 
from the manfion houfe, efpecially near 
or adjoining to water, which of all o- 
thers is a canfideration that ought to 
have great weight widi it $ as will more 
amply appear in the next chapter. 

Long experience has taught us, and 0/ >.</ \n 
we have a confirmation of it from th^ 
* learned Eery tins ^ and /^'rg-/7 confirmsy^^^e/ 
the fame, that the blackeft deepefl earth 
is the proper eft for the fruit and kitchen 

*_Vid. Corn, de Agr'tcult. lib. i. cap. ii. p. 38. 
Humida majores herbas slit ipfaque jufio 

B z garden, 



T^he 7 radical Kitchen Gardinef. 

garden, efpecially, for thofe kinds that 
require quick and fpeedy growth, and 
to be well fed, as does the collyflower, 
and other kinds ; and this I fuppofe the 
firft, tho* the humblefl: and loweft ftage, 
wherein we form the plan of our culi- 
nary gardens for this blackifli mold, if 
not inclinable to be peaty or moory, is 
to be preferred before others, for that 
it receives, as is clfewhere intimated, 
the leafl: detriment from exceffive rain 
or droughts, and confifting of loofe par- 
ticles, the fun has the more power in 
the drawing up the moifturc that natu- 
rally lies at the bottom of all low lands, 
by which this lower plat or plan is 
moiftened in all dry weather, and the 
roots of the herbs refreflied, without 
the frequent helps of irrigations and 
waterings 5 by which means the produce 
of the fruit is the larger and finer. 
Neither is it to be forgot, that the bot- 
tom fhould, as it is for fruit gardens, 
be a gravel rock, or bed of chalk, but 
the firft generally offers itfelf in fuch 
low places 5 and it muft be obferved, 
that the proper improvement for this 
kind of land is dung, cole-aftics, or fea- 
faad, the which is fo cffentiai for the ac- 
celerating 



The TraEtical Kitchen Gardiner. 5 

celerating fruits and herbs ; as is vifiblc 
to thofe that confidcr what great pro- 
dudions it makes in the neat-houfe 
and marfh gardens 2iho\xX. Lambeth ^ Ro- 
therhithy &c. 

For the fecond ftage or level of the The fecomi 
kitchen garden, a loam is the moft pro-^^^^^ 
per, if it can be had 5 for this fort of^^f^^^^^^t 
land, tho' it may not impart fo wmohden, 
juice to the nourifhment of herbs, as 
the lower land does, and the herbs be 
not fo large, yet the produce of it is 
fweeter, and much more agreeable to 
the palate 5 every days experience teach- 
ing us how much better garden fluff is 
from middling land, and fuch as is in 
the country fome diftance hom Lon- 
dotty or any other town where great 
plenty of dung is, than it is there, and 
that for afparagus and many other things 
it is infinitely to be preferred before it, 
becaufe it is there that not only, plants 
but men are moft healthy 5 tho' the lower 
ground is not to be omitted on account 
of the abundance it produces for large 
families, and thofe whom nothing but 
great quantities can fuffice, this fhould 
be trenched two foot deep, and the tops 
often' changed for the bottom, *vice 
verfa. B 3 The 



6 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 



of the third The third and upper ftage * is the 
%gecf a ^ii'ieft and moft perflatile of all, and is 
kitchen gar- xhticc^or^y by confequcnce, the better 
for peafe, beans, and other legumes $ 
and if fandy, or a light loam and deep, 
the beft for carrots, turneps, and moft 
other efculents, which love a dry foil; 
this kind of land, when newly broke 
up, and frefh, is very well known to 
produce the heaithieft race of vegetables, 
and the fweeteft and cleaneft that is pof- 
fible, as whofoever has been at Sandr 
wichy Burbridge, the T>evifes, and Or 
ther places of like account, can teftify. 
Thefe kinds of ground are manured and 
kept in order chiefly by the plough, and 
when turned out, fhould be reinvigor 
rated from old heaps and layftalls of 
compoft of earth and dung, dug out of 
the ftreets and highways, and mixt with 
dung and lime, a half quantity of each, 
for the aforefaid Reafons. 

The befl: improvement of this fort oF 
land, when its natural vigour is extin.- 
guifhing, is the fhovelling of ftreets and 
ponds, and of natural mold, as much 

* C-^nle fuburbano qui ficcis cr-eT^t in 

Dulcior. . Hor, Sut, lt6,i. ^. 4. 

as 



The T^ra5iical Kitchen Gardiner. 

as will be double to the other quanti- 
ties, and a third part of the whole of 
rotten dung, cole afhes, mix'd and 
laid up together in a heap, and twice 
or thrice turned, and well blended and 
mix'd together, the ufing of dung alone 
being, in my humble opinion, (and I 
think I have the eoncurrenee of moft 
of the eminent praditioners and gar- 
diners,) a very great fault, both in fruit 
and kitchen gardens 5 tho' it mufl: be 
confefs'd that it is properer for the 
kitchen than the fruit garden 5 but even 
here, there is nothing fo proper for 
fallet, and oth*er edule plants, as the 
genial and natural mold, impregnated 
and enrich'd with well-digefted compoft, 
without any mixture of unconfumed 
and loathfome dung, (linking garbadge, 
or odious carrion. Befides, experience 
fliews, that the rahknefs of dung is fre- 
quently the caufe of blafts and fmut» 
tinefs. 

But there are other places that have 
not one of the good properties iuft now 
mentioned. 

Of this kind was a place where I 
have had (at the time I wrote this) the 
honour to be employed, where tho' it 

B 4 is 



8 The Tra6iical Kitchen Gardiner. 



IS a very extraordinary fituation, yet the 
foil is poor, and on a very wretched 
barren dry gravel, fo bad that I have 
ofcen defpaired of bringing any of the 
garden produce to the leaft degree of 
perfedlion : The place where this kitchen 
garden and potagery was to be, was an 
old over-fhaded orchard, where the ge- 
neral part of the foil was not above a 
foot deep at moft ; but the long (land- 
ing and fhade of the trees, a misfor- 
tune pernicious to a garden *, had cauf- 
ed all the herbage and ground under 
the trees to be fower, and not without 
fonie difficulty to be reduc d into tillage ; 
the method of doing which 1 fhall fet 
down in the next chapter. 

-RefersiotU It Is to bc obfcrvcd that I have every 
/)rf/Ar^ -vvhere, and particularly in this chapter, 

^dua'mJ^' ^^^^ much of the conveniencies there 
are in having a kitchen garden of diffe- 
rent levels, on account of the different 
vegetables that grow therein, fome af- 
fecting a moift, fome a middling, and 
others a very dry foil 5 as alfo becaufe 
fome require a more lofty, fome a mid- 

* Hortus nuUas amat umbras piaster umbram Domini. 
CHfemtiiy lib. 3, 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner, 

dling, and fome a lower fun and air 5 
for that fun and air tiiat would nourifli 
and cherifh one plant, would by the 
fame means exhauft and dry up an- 
other. 

The plan that is prefixed to the in- 
trodudion, is calculated to the fame 
purpofc;, where you may at one view 
fee the three levels lying one under an- 
other 5 they are dividing into quarters 
exaclly fquare, in the middle whereof 
is a fmaller fquare to hold a mulberry- 
tree, in each of the two upper ones 5 
a ftandard apple in the fecond level, and 
a ftandard pear, or a quince ftock, or a 
medlar tree, on the lower one. 

The plan of the fquare buildings 
mark'd A, coming into the garden, 
are lodges, one for the gardiner, and 
the other for his men , the other two 
little lodges on the angles, m.ark'd B, 
are one for tools, and the other for 
fruit 5 and the two lodges mark'd C, 
on the lower end next the canal, are 
defignd for pavilions for the owner; 
to which ufe may be alfo apply'd the 
two upper fquare buildings, as thofe of~ 
Sunbury in Hertfordjhire arc, if the 
owner pleafcs. 

4. The 



The TraBkal Kitchen Gardiner. 

The borders round are about four 
foot wide, and are all defign'd for efpa-. 
iier fruit, which by experience we fin4 
turn to mere account, and beai; better, 
than dwarf fruit does : Befides, it keeps 
a garden more private, and fcreens the 
quarters planted, as they are to be, with 
cabbages, peafe, beans, and other vege- 
tables, in themfelves not the moft agree- 
able, as to profpeft nor fmell. 

Every quarter is divided into about 
eight plots, which contain about a pole, 
or a pole and a quarter fquare ; which 
is generally large enough for moft crops 
in a family of fifteen or lixteen, for 
which this garden is calculated 5 but if 
the gardiner has a mind to it, he may 
plant one, two, three, or four of thofe 
plots or divifions, with one kind of 
ftufFj for I have created as great a num- 
ber of them as I could, that he may 
not want variety 5 and it muft be noted, 
as a very great error in moft gar-dens, 
and which caufes them that they are 
not ftock'd with half that variety as 
they ought, that gardiners generally fow 
or plant more of a kind than is ufefulj 
which is the oeeafion that he has not 
room for fo many things, nor to come 

in 



The Vraiiieal Kitchen Gardiner, 

in fo many different feafons as other- 
wife he might. 

I have made diagonal alleys, in order 
to make thofe many fubdivifions I have 
been naming, but if any gardiner pleafes, 
he may omit thofe, and let them be all 
fquares, or he may divide them into 
ftrait beds of four foot wide, efpecially 
the two middle divifion quarters, which 
I recommend for that purpofe, efpecially 
for afparagus, artichokes, c^r. 

The model ! have here laid down is 
perhaps as ufeful as any extant, and 
will, as I have before obferv'd, ferve 
fourteen or fifteen people in family 
well enough, provided it be kept well 
aung'd and well employ'd s for the mak- 
ing kitchen gardens fo large as they ge- 
nerally are, is the occafion of their be- 
ing too often too much uncultivated, 
and negleded. But if a model of this 
kind fhouid be required for a larger fa- 
mily than I have been mentioning, the 
jproportion may be doubled or trebled, 
tad the proportion will, I mufl con- 
fefs, be fliil the better. 

I have defign d a row of limes, or 
clnis, round the garden, at about ten or 
twelve foot diitance from each other, 

and 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

and ten foot diftance from the wall 
(if they are more, the better) which as 
they grow up fhould be cut fan- ways, 
and kept cut at top to fifteen or fix- 
teen foot high at mofi:, which would 
be an excellent guard, and would break 
the winds from coming into the garden, 
^s would the efpalier hedges on the in- 
fide, and the little bunches of green 
yew, or holly, that are plac'd on the 
top of each flope to break the career 
of the wind that generally blows from 
one fide of a wall to another, with un- 
ufual violence, if not prevented by this 
or other means of this kind. 

The flopes will be of the greateft 
ufe for flrawberries, early peafe, i^c. 
but the firft being the handfonicft, I re- 
commend it j and let the inner divifion 
be kept planted with bunches of goofe- 
berries, currans and rasberries 5 with 
edgings of fweet herbs, as parfley, 
thyme, &c. It muft be alfo obferv'd, 
that there are glacises in the room of fteps, 
recommended both for their fafety as 
well as cheapnefs before fteps. 

The walks may be either of grafs, or 
otherwife 5 walks of cole-afh, gravel, 
01 whatever is moft convenient. 

SECT. 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 



SECT. 1. CHAP. III. 

If the foil particular to all kinds of 
kitchen vegetables^ its improvement ^ &c. 

\ Greeable to what has been advanced 



in the foregoing chapter, it is 
certain there are fomc foils which want 
none of the good qualities before-mcn- 
tion'd, which are requif d to make them 
produce in every feafon of the year, 
and for a long time together, all forts 
of fair and good legumes ; fuppofing 
always, that they be reafonably well 
cultivated : And there are fome befideSj 
that have the faculty to produce more 
early than others, and they are fuch 
grounds as they commonly call black 
fands, as mentioned in the laft chapter; 
in which is found an equal temper be- 
tween dry and moift, accompanied with 
a good expofition, and with an almoft: 
inexhauftible fertility, rendring them eafy 
to be dug by the fpade, and to be pe- 
netrated by the rain waters : But on the 
other hand, it is no lefs certain, that it 
is rare enough to find many of thefe 
perfeft kinds of earth, and that on the 




contrary. 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

contrary, it is very ufual to meet with 
thofe that offend, either in being too 
dry, light and parching, or over moift, 
heavy and cold 5 or elfe b)^ being un- 
fortunately fvtu'ated, as being fonie of 
them too high, fome too (loping, and 
fome again too low, and too much in 
a bottom. Happy are th(?fe gardiners 
that meet with thofe firft forts of ground> 
that are fo admirabLy well difpofed for 
cultivation, in which they iiave hardly 
ever any bad fuccefs to fear, but com- 
monly all m^anner of good fortune to 
expert s on the other fide, unhappy, gc 
at leaft much to be pitied, are thofe 
whofe lot it is to have always foitie of 
the great enemies of vegetation to com- 
bat with 3 I mean, either great droughts, 
or more efpecially exccflive moiftures, 
becaufe this laft, befides that it is always 
attended with a chilling cold that re- 
tards its produdlions, it is likewife apt 
to rot the greateft part of the plants, 
and cohfequently, it is very difficult to 
correft, and almoft impoffible entirely 
to fupply fo great a defedj but it is 
hot altogether fo difficult to qualify a 
ary temper, for provided it be not ex- 
tream great, and that v/e have the con- 
4 venicnces 



The ^raBical Kitchen Gardinif. 

veniences of water to witer it, and of 
dung to amend and enrich it, we are 
mafters of two fovereign and infallible 
remedies, which we muft apply for its 
cure. And fo by care and pains we 
itiay get the conqueft over thofe dry and 
ftubborn lands, and force them to bring 
forth in abundance all things wc (hall 
tegularly demand of them. 

It follows thence, that when we are 
fo happy as to meet with thofe choice 
good forts of ground, we may indifFe- 
fently both fow and plant every where 
in them, any fort of legumes or plants 
whatfoever, with an affur^d confidence 
that they will profper there. The only 
fubjedion we are obliged to in thofe 
grounds is, firft, to weed much, becaiife 
they produce abundance of weeds a- 
mongft the good herbs ^ and, fecondly, 
to be often removing our legumes, and 
changing their places, which is an ef- 
fential point of praftice in all forts of 
gardens, it being not at all convenient 
?0' place for two or three times together, 
the fame vegetables in the fame piece of 
ground, becaufe the nature of the earth 
requires thefe forts of changes, as being 
as 'twere alTured, in this diverfirv, to 

' find 



Hhe TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

find wherewithal to recruit and perpe- 
tuate its firft vigour, it being an allow'd 
maxim in vegetation, that there are par- 
ticular falts in the earth proper to each 
kind 5 for which reafon the husbandman 
and country farmer firft fows his wheat, 
then his barley, oats, and fo on* Now 
tho' in thofe good grounds all things 
profper admirably well, yet it is a moft 
undoubted truth, that Southern and 
Eaftern expofitions are here, as well as 
every where elfe, more proper than thofe 
of the Weft and North, to forward and 
improve its produdions, witncfs ftraw- 
berries, early peafe, cherries, ^c, to 
ballance which, thefe laft, thefe Northern 
expofitions, have likewife fome peculiar 
advantages, that makes them to be e- 
fteemed in their turn ^ for example, 
during the exceflive heats of fummer, 
that often fcorch up every thing, and 
caufe our legumes and other plants to 
run up haftily to feed, they are exempt 
from thofe violent imprefiions which 
the fun makes upon thofe places that 
are fully expofed to his burning rays ; 
and confequently our plants will main- 
,tain themfelves longer in good plight 
in thofe fituations than in the others. 

It 



^he TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 

It alfo follows from hence, that if 
any perfon have grounxl, the' tolerably 
good, yet not of an equal goodnefs all 
over, either caufed by the difference of 
its natural temper, or fituation, and 
floping inclination upwards or down- 
wards, that then, I fay, the skill and 
induftry of the gardiner fhews it felf, 
by knowing how to allot every*' plant 
the place in which it may beft come to 
maturity in every feafon, as well in re- 
gard of forwardnefs, and fometimes 
of the backwardnefs, as of its outward 
beauty, and inward perfedion. 

Generally fpeaking, thofe grounds that 
are moderately dry, light and fandy, and 
fuch as, tho' they be a little ftrong and 
heavy, are fituated on a gentle rifing 
towards the South or Weft, and are 
backed by great mountains, or fenced 
by high walls againft the cold winds, 
are more difpofed to produce the novcl« 
ties of the fpring, than the ftrong, hea- 
vy, fat and moift lands 5 but likewifc^, 
on the other hand, in fummers when 
there falls but little rain, thefe laft pro= 
duce thicker and better nourifhmeht to 
legumes, and require not fuch large and 
frequent waterings j fo that we may find 
C . fome 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

fome fort of confolation and fatisfa£lion 
in all forts of grounds. 

However tho', abfolutely fpeaking, all 
things that may enter into a kitchen 
garden, may grow in all forts of grounds 
that are not altogether barren, yet it 
has been obferved in all times, that all 
forts of earth agree not equally with all 
forts of plants; our able market gardi- 
ners, in the neighbourhood of this great 
city, juftify the truth of this by moft 
convincing experience $ for we fee fuch 
of them whofe gardens are in fandy 
grounds, feldom mind to plant in them 
any artichokes, collyflowers, beet-chards, 
onions, cardons, cellery, beet-raves or 
red-beet-roots, and other roots, (^c, as 
thofe do that have them in ftronger and 
more hearty lands j and on the contra- 
ry, thefe laft employ not their ground 
in forrel, purflain, lettuce, endive, and 
other fmall plants, that are delicate, and 
fubjed to perifh with mildew, and the 
wet, and rot, as do thofe whofe gardens 
are in light foils. 

From all that I have afferted, there 
refuit two things the firft is, that an 
able gardiner, who has a pretty dry or 
hilly ground to cultivate, with an obli- 
gation 



The 7ra£iical IGtchen Gardiner. 

gat ion to have of aU forts of things in his 
gardeui fhould pla ce in the moirtcfl: parts 
thofe plants that rc^quire a little moifturc 
to bring them to perfection, as arti- 
chokes; red-beet-roots, fcorzonera's, fal- 
fifies, carrots, pajirfnips, skirrets, beet- 
chards, collyflow^ers and cabbages, fpin- 
age common or later, peafe, beans, oni- 
ons, cibols, leeks, parfiey, forrel, ra- 
dilhes, patience or dock-forrel, fv/eet 
herbs, borage, buglofs, (^c, and (fup- 
pofing the provifions above fpccified^ 
without which nothing will be fightly, 
be already planted in its other parts,) 
he fliould fill up the drier parts of the 
fame garden with early peaie and beans, 
lettuces of all feafons, endive, fuccory, 
chervil, tarragon, bafil, burner, mint, 
and other fallet furnitures, and purflain, 
garlick, fhalots,. winter cabbages, hot 
beds of all forts of plants, and of little 
fallets 5 and he muft place his legumes 
there at moderate diftances, becaufe they 
grow not to fo large a fize and ftature 
there, as in fatter places. And laftly, 
he muft keep his walks and pathways 
higher th^n his dtelTed grounds, as well 
to draw into thefe latter the rain-waters 
that would be but unufeful and incom- 
C % modious 



The Tra[iical IGuhen Gardiner. 

modious in the walks, as to render the 
artificial waterings he fhali be obliged 
to life, of the greater advantage to them, 
by preventing them from running out 
any where allde, which muft be one of 
his principal applications. 

He muft alfo choofc out, in the fame 
grounds^, thofe parts which come the 
neareft to the good temper between 
dry and moift, for the raifing of afpa- 
ragus, ftrawberrics, cardons, cellery, 
becaufe thcfe forts of plants languifli 
with drought in places too dry, and 
pcrifh with rottennefs in parts over 
moift. He muft place in the borders 
under his Northern walls, his forrels, 
fcurvigrafs, and later ftrawberries 5 and 
in the counter- borders of the fame 
Northern quarter, he may make his 
nuriery beds for ftrawberries, and fow 
chervel all the fummer long, tlie North 
fide, in all forts of grounds, being moft 
proper for thofe purpofes. And as this 
gardiner fhould be curious of novelties, 
he ought to look upon the banks un- 
der the walls towards the South and 
Eaft, to be a favourable fiielter for the 
raifing fuch of them as you require ear- 
ly 5 as for example, for the procuring 



The TraSiical Kitchen Gardiner. 

of ftrawberries and early peafc at the 
beginning of May, and cabbage- lettuces 
at the beginning of ^pril. He fhould 
iikewife plant in the drefled banks next 
to the fame Eaftern and Weftern walls, 
his nurfery of cabbages, -and fow there 
his winter lettuces ; that is, the Genoa 
and other hardy lettuces, to remain there 
all autumn and winter, till in the fpring 
it be time to tranfplant them into the 
places where they are to come to per- 
fedion 5 which courfe is to be followed 
in all forts of gardens. And in the 
winter time he fliould Iikewife obferve 
this particular caution, to throw all the 
fnow off from the neighbouring places 
upon the drelfed borders of thofe wall 
trees, and efpecially thofe of the Eadera 
quarter, both for the ereding of a ma- 
gazine, as 'twere, of moiflure, in fuch 
places upon which the rain but feldom 
falls, as upon thofe in which the vio- 
lent heat of the fummer is like to be 
of pernicious influence. 

. The fecond thing that refults from 
what I before laid down, is. That the 
gardiner whofe garden is in a very fat 
and moift ground, muft take a quite 
contrary method with all his plants, to 
C 3 that 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

that juft above mentioned, always af- 
faring himfelf that thofe parts of it which 
are very nioift, unlefs he can find means 
to drain and render them lighter, will 
be of no other ufe to him than to pro- 
duce noxious weeds ; and confequentJy^ 
that thofe which partake the Icaft of 
that intemperature, whether by his own 
nature and fttuation, or by the care and 
induftry of the ingenious gardiner, are 
alwaj^s to be look'd upon as the beft of 
all forts of things. He muft place in 
the dired parts, moft of thofe plants 
that keep in their places for feveral years 
together, excepting currans, goofeber- 
lies, and rasberry bufhes 5 as for example, 
afparagus, artichokes, foawberries, wild 
endive or fuccory, o'C, In other places 
let him put thofe things which in fum- 
mer require the leaft time to come to 
perfection, "viz. fallets, peas, beans, ra- 
difhes, nay, and cardons, cellery, ^c. 
and becaufe all things grow thick and 
tall in thofe fat and moill places, there- 
fore he muft plant his kitchen plants 
there at greater diflances one from the 
other, than in drier places 5 he muft al- 
fo keep his beds and dreffed grounds 
^rais'd higher than his walks and path- 

ways;. 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 

ways, contrary to what has been faid of 
dry barren foils, to help to drain out 
of his grounds the water that is fo hurt- 
ful to his plants; and for that reafon, 
his beds of afparagus efpecially, as like- 
wife his ftrawberry and cellery beds, ire. 
no more than thofe of his fallets, muft 
not be hollow, as thofe mufl: be, that 
are made ki jirier grounds, as before. 

From all thefe general hints, may be 
deduced, in a great meafure, the me- 
thods by which you may make any 
kitchen garden ufeful and proper for 
the particular purpofcs you would ap- 
propriate to every particular divifion j 
which I fhall fet down in their refpedive 
order, as I have them from experience, 
and not fpeculation. 

The firft method, which is diredly 
what I have made ufe of m a perfon 
of quality's garden in the Weft country, 
I cut down all the old trees that grew 
thereon, and plough'd up the turf and 
laid it in heaps, in order to burn 5 in the 
doing which, our Weft country labour- 
ers are very expert, becaufe they are 
% always pradifing it on the Downs ; 
this done, and the turf being burnt and 
laid in heaps, the following compofition 

C 4. was 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

was ordered for the improvement of 
about two acres and a half of land, 
"Vtz. two hundred load of pond earth, 
two hundred load of natural mold, 
three hundred load of the fatteft fand 
that cou'd be got, two hundred load of 
rotten dung, and fifty load of cok-afhes^ 
all thefe mix'd and blended well toge- 
ther, with the natural mold and burn- 
bake afties put all together, containing a- 
bout fifteen hundred or two thoufand 
load, has made it one of the beft pieces 
of land that I ever yet law planted up- 
on, and is much better than fo much 
dung ufed by it felf, as I fhall always 
recommend with earneftnefs. And this 
method is what in general may be ob- 
ferv'd in all poor foils, where the ground 
is neverthelefs inclineable to a kind of 
difFncfs, and where the ftaple is not 
deep. 

But for foils of other kinds, that are 
very moift, wet and heavy, I prefcribe 
other methods \ tho' if it be a fwardy 
ground 1 begin with burn-baking firft, 
which I do in the fummer time, when 
the turf will bcfl: take fire ; after which 
1 let it lie on heaps till I have brought 
in all the other materiars that will by 
iind by follow. ^'^ I have 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 

I have already, in my 7ra5lical Fruit 
Gardiner^ fhewn tlae methods I take to 
drain or draw off the fuperfluous wa- 
ter from all clayey foils^ by fubterra- 
neous tubes or drains made by ramming 
of clay round a wooden rowler $ fo 
that I need add no more on that head. 
But for the farther improvement of this 
kind of foil, I bring in about two hua» 
dred load of the beft fand I can get, 
two hundred of dung and coal-afhes 
well mix'd and mouldred together, with 
one hundred of natural turf-mold ta- 
ken out of highways, to an acre , and 
have all thefe forts of materials mix*d 
with equal skill one amongfl: another; 
I fet my men to trenching the ground, 
blending all the kinds together, and at: 
lafl: (as I fhould have mentioned in the 
other article) throwing the good natu- 
ral and burn-bak'd mold at top, becaufe 
the burning difpofes it for immediate 
ufe fooner than any thing again : Or, 
in the words of a good husbandman, 
reduces it into more immediate tillage. 

To continue on the method of im- 
proving this ground, you muft be fure 
to trench it once if not twice a year, 
till the mold is fo well mix'd and in- 
corporated 



The TraSfical Kitchen Gardiner. 

corporated together, that it may be faid 
to be one kind of mold 5 but be fure in 
ail winter weather, that is, about No- 
'Vember and December, in all leifurc time, 
you muft not omit to trench and lay it 
up in ridges. 

SECT. L CHAP. IV. 

Of the different culture proper for kitchen 
herbs and plants, 

IT is not fufficicnt that a good gar- 
diner be well skiird in the quality 
of his foil, but he muft alfo underftand 
the nature of the herb or plant he is 
to propagate and encreafe s for it is not 
only a very confiderable advance to have 
fettled a garden upon 2l good foot at 
firft, and to have wifely employed, or 
at leaft affigned out all its parts accord- 
ing to the different qualifications of the 
foil, the goodnefs of its expofition, the 
order of the months, and the nature of 
each plant 5 but that is not all, we muft 
likewife carefully cultivate them, in 
fuch a manner as they particularly re- 
quire. 

^ Por 



7he Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

Por there is a general culture of kitchen 
gardens, and there is a particular culture 
peculiar to each plant. As to the ge- 
neral culture, it is well enough known, 
that the moft neceffary and important 
points of it confifts, firft, in well amend- 
ing and dunging the foil with dung and 
earth well rotted and mixd together, 
whether it be naturally good or not; 
becaufe kitchen plants exhauft it much. 
Secondly, in keeping it always loofc 
and ftirred, either by digging up whole 
beds, to fow or tranfplant in them, (ire. 
or fuch other places where the fpade 
xnay be employed j as for example, a- 
mong artichokes, cardons, <^c. or by 
pecking and grubbing up, where the 
clofenefs of the plants to one another 
will permit us to ufc only grubbing in- 
ftruments; and alfo among foawberries, 
lettuces, endive, peas, beans, cellery, 
Thirdly, in watering plentifully all forts 
of plants in very hot weather, and efpe- 
cklly in fandy grounds, for thofe that 
are ftrong and rank require not fo much 
water as thofe that are jejune and bar- 
ren ^ always obferving, that in both 
forts of ground watering is not fo ^xz- 
^effaryjfof afparagus, nor for borders or 

edgings 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner] 

edgings of thyme, fage, lavender, hyf- 
ibp, rue, wormwood, &c, which need 
i)ut little moifture to keep them in good 
plight, as it is in coUyflowers, onions, 
i^c. Fourthly, it confifts in the keep- 
ing the fuperficies of our ground clear 
of all forts of weeds, either by weed- 
ing, or digging, or by only raking 
them over, when they have not beer^ 
Jong dreffed ; fo that, as far as 'tis pof- 
fible, the earth may always appear as if 
it had been newly ftirf d up. 

I fhall not infift any longer here up- 
on the head of the general culture, be- 
caufe it has been already hinted at, and 
is fo generally well known almoft to all 
people, but fhall only declare my opi» 
nion, and the practice of able gardiners^ 
in that which is peculiarly to be ufed 
to each particular plant. 

And I fhall begin with obferving, that 
^mong kitchen plants, there are fome 
that are fown to remain ftill in the 
places where they were firft, and others 
again, only to be tranfplanted elfewhere 5 
that there are fome that prove well both 
ways 5 fome that are multiply'd without 
feed, fome that are tranfplanted whole, 
and fome that are cut to be tranfplanted 5 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner^ 

that there are fome which, for the fup- 
ply of mankind, bear feveral times in 
the year, and that laft longer than a 
year , others that produce but once in a 
year, but yet laft to bear for feveral 
years after 5 and laftly, fome again, that 
perifh after their firft produftion. 

The plants of the firft clafs, are ra- 
diflics, almoft all red-beet-roots, carrots, 
parfnips, skirrets, turncps, fcorzoneras, 
falfifies, and befides them, garlick, cher- 
vil, wild-endive or fuccory, hartfhorn 
fallet, garden-crefTes, fhallots, fpinage, 
beans, fmall lettuce to cut, parfley, bur- 
net, beets, peas, purflain, ire, and the 
greateft part of our forrel, patience, or 
fharp-leaved dock, onions, and cibols. 

The plants of the fecond clafs, which 
fucceed not without being tranfplanted, 
are chard-beets, cellery, and the greateft 
part of our white-endive, both long and 
tied, and cabbages, unlefs they be fown 
very thin, or be very much thinn'd af- 
ter they are fown ^ of this clafs are alfo 
nioft musk-mcllons and cucumbers, ci- 
truls or pumpkins, leeks, &c. 

Thofe of the third clafs, (are fuch as 
may be indifferently either continued in 
the places where they are firft fown, or 

tranf. 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardner. 

tranfplanted elfewhere) aire afparagus, 
though nioft commonly they are fown 
at firft in nurferies, to be tranfplanted 
a year or two after j as alfo, bafil, fen- 
nel, annis, borage, buglofs, cardoni, 
chibols, favory, time, masked chervil. 

The plants of the fomth clafs, that 
are multiplied without being fown, ard 
the fennels of all kinds, forrels, Eng/ijti 
chives, artichokes are propagated by 
their eyes, ofF-fets, or flips 5 mint, and 
round-forrel, tarragon, balm, &c. by 
their layers or branches, that take root 
where they touch the earthy the two 
laft of which have alfo the advantage 
of multiplying by feed 5 as liKewife 
have the artichokes fometimes 5 ftraw- 
berries propagate by their runners 5 raf- 
berries, goofeberries and currans, by 
their flips, or fuckers, and by their cut- 
tings, whicli alfo take root; lavender, 
wormwood, fage, thyme and marjoram, 
by their branches, which take root at 
theit joints, and are alfo multiplied by 
their feed ; the common bays, both by 
layers and feed to ; vines and fig-trees 
by their fuckers, hooked flips and cut- 
tings, whether rooted ot not rb'oted. 
4 



The TraSfical Kitchen Gardiner. 

In the fifth place, thofe plants of which 
we cut off fome part either of the leaves 
or Toots, or both at the fame time, in 
order to tranfplant them, arc artichokes, 
chard-beets, leeks, cellery, ^c. And 
thofe others, whofe leaves we do not 
cut at all, tho* it be good always to trim 
their roots a little to refrefh them, are 
endive, and fuccory, moft commonly, 
and favory, forrel, ^c, and all lettuces, 
alleluia or wood- forrel, violets, bafil, 
arrach or orage, borage, buglofs, capu- 
cin-capers or nafturces, cabbages, tar- 
ragon, famphire, ftrawberries, marjoram, 
musk-melons, cucumbers, citruls oi: 
pumpkins, purQain, and radiflies for 
feed, 

The plants that bring forth feveral 
times in a year, and yet laft for fome 
years following, are forrel, patience or 
fharp-dock, alleluia or wood- forrel, bur- 
net, chervil, parfley, fennel, all edging, 
or fweet herbs, wild-endive or fuccory, 
Macedonian parQey or alifanders, mint, 
tarragon, famphire, (^c. 

Thofe that produce but once in the 
year, but yet continue bearing for fe 
veral years afterwards^ are afparagus and 
artichokes. 

And 



7he Tm£lical Kitchen Gardiner, 

And laftly, thofe that ceafe to be ufe- 
ful after their firft produftion, are all 
lettuces, common-endivej, peas, beans, 
cardons, mellons, cucumbers, citruls or 
pumpkins, onions, leeks, cellery, ar- 
rach or orage, and all plants whofe roots 
are only in ufe^ as red-beets, carrots, 
&c. 

Now to give you a particular account 
of the culture that belongs to every fe- 
veral fort of plant, I muft tell you, that 
this culture confifls, firft, in obferving 
the diftances they are to be placed at 
one from the other 5 the fecond, in the 
trimming of fuch as need it , third, in 
planting them in the fituation and dif- 
pofition which they require 5 fourth, in 
giving them thofe alliftances which fome 
of them have need of to bring them to 
perfedion, or which are convenient for 
thenij whether it be by tying up, or 
wrapping about, or earthing up, or o- 
therwife covering them, &c. 

Peas, common and kidney or French 
beans, fhould be in good foil, at leaft 
three foot afunder in their rows? in in- 
different, two and an half. 

Parfnips, carrots, turnips, and all ef- 
culents, fhould be from four to fix inches 
3 ■ afunder 5 



Tthe Tra£tical Kitchen Gardiner. 

afunder 5 according to the goodnefs or 
badnefs of the foil they grow in. 

Melons, cucumbers, and all forts of 
fruit, fliould be three foot diftance one 
hole from another. 

The rows of artichokes lliould be 
three foot afunder every way ; ahd afpa- 
ragus at leaft fix inches, four rows in a 
bed, fix, eight, or ten inches apart, more 
or lefs, as your ground is like to pro- 
duce. All which will appear in the fol- 
lowing feries of things 5 to which I re- 
fer niy reader, after I have treated of 
another convenience that ought to be 
confiderd of in a kitchen garden 5 I 
mean water. 

S E C T. 1. C H A P. 

Of watery its ufes and conveniencies in 
a garden. 

IT will, I humbly conceive, be readi- 
dily granted, that water is the very 
life and fpirit of a garden, and without 
which all its productions muft be im- 
mature and imperfed $ but which afting 
in conjundion with the fun, that is the 
nurfe by which nutriment is convey'd 

D to 



The ^raSitcat Kitchen Gardiner. 
to all the race of vegetable trees, herbs> 

Por as it muft be acknowledged that 
it is from the two principles of heat 
and moifture that all life and aftion is 
given to vegetables in general, fo wa- 
ter in particular is the well-known vehi- 
cle, and adive GO-efRcicnt, in this fo 
wonderful a proeefs 5 for being animat- 
ed by the heat of the fun, and a kind 
of fait that lies latent and hid in the 
earth, thofe agents are as it were fct in- 
to a ferment, by the powerful force one 
has upon another, and is the occafioii 
of thofe beautiful produ6lions that the 
whole fcene of nature every year dis- 
plays 5 for that fait (which lies as it were 
dormant and fluggifh in the earth all the 
winter) can have no effed of it felf, 
unlefs diflblved by water, being, as it 
were, held down, bound, fetter d and 
chain'd in the ground, and incapable of 
doing any thing necelTary to any new 
produdions 5 but when dilToived by wa- 
ter, and mingled with the terreftrial, 
fandy and minuter parts of the earthy 
and then animated by the heat of the 
fun, difperfes and communicates them, 
all mix d together, to the roots of herbs 

and 



The Tra£ikdl Kitchen Gardiner, 

and trees, to nourifh them, and then 
by frefh and fucceflive degrees of heat^ 
that nourifhment is fo digefted as to turn 
into the fubftancc of plants themfelves, 
by methods we may reafonably guefs at^ 
but which is really known only to the 
Great Arehited and Condudor of all 
things. 

I have already, in my pradical trea^ 
tife of fruit gardening, given a plan 
and defign of the method of watering 
a potagery 5 which had it been executed 
in the manner it is defign'd, would 
have been as ufeful a thing as any in 
the whole compafs of gardening; and I 
have alfo in this given another plan of 
the fame kind, where water may not 
be fo plentiful as it is in the other : For 
as water is fo neeefTary an ingredient in 
the vegetable, as well as animal fyftem;^ 
it highly behoves every gardiner andl 
planter, to endeavour by all means not 
only to procure it, but to confider its 
quality, fo fat as it relates to the water- 
ing of trees and other vegetables. 

1 fliall only make a fhort abftraft of 
the methods of finding water for the 
life of the garden $ intending^ in fome 
future attempt, to fet the niatter out 
D s m 



S6 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

in a more full light than it has hitherto 
appear d. 

0/ pUcei The * antients have intimated , that 
far water. ^y|-^^|;ever the twig, withy-fleabane, reeds, 
trefoyle, pond-grafs, and the bull-rufh 
are found> there water may be had 5 and 
tell us that by digging a hole and put- 
ting in a veffel, either of lead or earth, 
and hanging thereon a piece of wool, 
that by the quantity of moifture that 
afcends and lodges in the fame, you 
may there difcover if there be any wa- 
ter. Other methods for difcovering of 
water (fays the afore- mentioned author) 
are by obferving of the foil 5 if it be 
black, and full of pebbles, of a black or 
yellowifh colour, there you need not 
fear the want of water, efpecially if the 
ground be foft, moift and moory : And 
the fame may be faid of fuch foil as has 
a mixture of clay, loam and pebbles, and 
on which rulhes, or any other aquatic, 
as alder, ^r. grow 5 and where they 
grow in greateft abundance, there you 
o/?^erWwill find the largeft fprings. 
and ba A black and deep foil produces the 
^Tam!\nd^^^'^ durable and ftrongeft waters, but 

Tohzt foils 

are the befi * y]d, CmnnmSi de agricultur, lib. 2. ^.4. />. 27, 

to produce 

shem. thofe 



The ^raoiical Kitchen Gardiner. 

thofe that are clayifh and fandy the 
fwceteft j tho in England we generally 
count our chalks the befi. Of all wa- 
ters (fays our author) thofe that lie the 
deep eft are the fvveeteft and moft dura- 
ble, for thofe which are found near the 
furface moft commonly proceed from 
rain, and ceafe with their caufe 5 where- 
fore it is neceftary to dig deep, till we 
come to the very fountain-head, and 
then we need not doubt of its being 
permanent and lafting. But it muft be 
fuppofed this ingenious author means 
thofe waters that are defigned for houfe- 
hold ufe and drinking, becaufe experi- 
ence tells us that rain-water, and thofe 
that lie near eft the furface, are the beft 
for watering of trees. But as the planter 
will be often obliged to make ufe of 
well-water, it will not be amifs by and 
by to examine its properties, ftnce that 
which is pernicious to man and beafts, 
muft alfo certainly be the fame to plants 
and trees. To proceed. 

T)emocrittiSj another author of great 
antiquity (as the afore-mentioned * Co- 
onarius has it) aftures us^ that thofe 



* Vid. Coromr. de stgrkult. I. 2, cf, p'ic}» 

D 3 who 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 

who have taken their obfervations from 
the hydrophanticks or difcoverers of 
water, aver, and fo indeed common ex- 
perience confirms, that flats and exten- 
five plains are commonly the mofl: def- 
titute of water, as the rifing gromids 
very fcldom fail of abounding there- 
with, and thofe eminences that are mofl 
fliadcd with trees have generally the 
greatcft fhare thereof : And it is worthy 
remark, that the waters that arc found 
in the plains arc mofl: commonly brackiflij 
whereas thofe that are difcovcr'd in an 
eminence are generally fweet, unlefs they 
arc changed by feme accidental caufe, 
as fait, nitre, allum, fulphur, or the 
like. How agreeable thefe reafonings 
are to the advantage or difadvantage of 
water for gardens, time only muft dif- 
cover. But to proceed with our inge- 
nious author, the natural caufe of the 
aforegoing effeds may thus be aflign'd : 
The fun (fays he) always attrads the 
fmalleft and lightcft particles out of the 
water towards it felf, and leaves the 
grofleft fubfiding 5 wherefore the fun ly- 
ing all day upon the plains, and the 
water being by its natural level the lefs 
nioving, exhales the moifture, and dif- 

folves 



Tthe Tra6tical Kitchen Gardiner, 

folvcs it into vapour i from whence it is 
(continues he) that fome are almoft dcf- 
ititute of water, and the fmail quan- 
tity whicla remains is fait and unplea- 
fant to the tafte, the fweet particles be- 
ing drawn off from them. And to this 
alfo is to be affign'd the faUnc quality 
of the fea. And thus far this ingenious 
author. But this feems in a great mea- 
fure contradidory to what we generally 
fuppofe to be for the benefit and advan- 
tage of plants and herbs, fince 'tis ftand- 
ing-pond-water we covet more than 
river-water ; but in my opinion, this 
choice fhould be done with fome judg- 
ment and care, there being many kinds 
of water that are in pools, and ftag- 
iiated and (landing lakes and ponds, that 
are without doubt as poifonous to herbs 
and plants, as they are to men, which 
is the reafon that plants often grow fick, 
and dwindle away, no body knowing 
the right caufe 5 but all waters fhould 
for that reafon be impregnated with 
dung, fweet earth, chalk, marie, lime, 
&c, in order to take off from them that 
noxious quality that by long ufe may- 
otherwife flarve and poifon their plants 5 
and this, without donbt, may be a good 
D 4 prev^ntioa 



40 The Tra5iical Kitchen Gardiner. 



prevention of the mifchiefs that attend 
all brackifh and poifonous waters in ge- 
neral 5 but tiiofe ancient fages, whom 
we muft mention with refped, affure 
us, that a bag of barley put into any 
reafonable quantity of water, tiio* bad, 
will foften and fweeten it ; and I have 
often been allured, that the water where- 
in barley is fteep'd in order to the mak- 
ing of malt, tho* never fo corrofive and 
crude, is thereby foftned and made fit 
for wafhing, or any other ufe ; and it 
may therefore undoubtedly and without 
danger, for that reafon, be recommend- 
ed for the watering of all tender feed- 
ling plants and herbs. Of whicli more 
hereafter. 

The method That thctc is good and bad water in 
of difcover- .\-^^ vclus of the carth, that is hurtful, 

tmgoodand . ^ . ^ , , 

bad water, if ^ot pouonous to mcu and plants, is 
undeniably true 5 and the ancients, as 
Vitruvius * relates, ufed, in the digging 
of ail their wells and cifterns, to let a 
lamp gently down into them, and if it 
was extinguilh'd thereby, they took it 
to be an infallible fign that the water 
was bad. And other trials, in wafhing 



Lib. 8. cap, 9, 



and 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

and culinary ufcs, are a certain demon- 
ftration of the truth of this affertion. 

What I fliall add more as to the ad- 
vantage or difadvantage of good or bad 
water, fliall be deduced from the obfer- 
vations of that laborious and very cu- 
rious enquirer into natural and vegeta- 
tive philofophy, Dr. Woodward:, who 
in that elaborate and curious eflay of 
his on vegetation, has fet down ahiioft 
all that is neceffary on this fubjed 5 I 
mean, as to the terreilrial properties 
with which water of all kinds is im- 
pregnated, which, with him, every planter 
muft agree, is more or lefs conducive 
to vegetation, as the feveral forts of wa- 
ter abounds more or lefs therewith j of 
which the Dodor s experiments made 
on Cataptitia minor y ^c, are undeniable 
inftances. This learned gentleman tells 
us, the * ancients feemed to be of opi- 
nion, that the earth only, without any 
other alliftance, conftituted and formed 
all vegetables j but that fome of the 
moderns, perhaps with too much hafte, 
afcrib'd all to watery and that the great 

* Faslix Horti pofitio eft cui leniter inclinata planities, 
minimus curfus aquae fiuentis, per fpatia difcreta derivat. 
lalkd. de re Kufitc. lib, i.f.-^Z* 

Lord 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

*Lord Bacon was of the opinion, that 
for the nourifhment of vegetables, the 
water is all in all, and that the earth 
does but keep the plant upright, and 
fave it from the extremities either of 
heat or cold 5 which indued this curi- 
ous gentleman to make feveral expe- 
riments, fome time fuice ^f- publifh'd in 
the Tranfadlions of the Royal Society, 
by which he found that his jiiint had 
galn'd fifteen grains in fcvcnty fevcn 
days, in fpring water, which appears to 
have lefs of the terreftrial matter, than 
rain or Thames water > tho' it had gam- 
ed much more in the Thames than the 
rain water, or fpring either 5 that of the 
rain having gain'd but feventeen grains, 
but that of the Thames water twenty 
fix grains 5 though the difpendium or 
cxpence of water was the lefs by 4., 
being as 2497 is to 3004. But when 
this laborious enquirer into nature had 
infufed only half an ounce of common 
mold, the exercife was a confidcrable 
deal more than when there was no mold 
in it. The refult of thcfe and many 

* Lord Bacon*s Nat. Hiji, cent, f.f. 41 i. 

t Ihiiojofh. Tra-f?Jacf. tor fn/je Num. 2^-9. 

• moro 



The VraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

more experiments were, that it was ow- 
ing to tine greater or leffer quantity of 
terrcftrial matter in water, that all plants 
profpered either more or lefs 5 but that 
river water, cfpecialJy fuch as it is a- 
bout Londonj or any great city, where 
it is continually difturb'd and made thick 
by its own motion, and th^ foil of the 
wafhings of the ftreets and uplancl 
grounds, is much better for watering 
than either fpring or rain water, how 
good foever the laft, when catch'd and 
prefcrv'd in tubs, may be efteenVd 5 and 
is a clear demonftration that the planter 
and gardiner can t enrich his water too 
much, efpecially that which comes out 
pf a cold well, or gentle running fpring^ 
And as I have in my Tra^iical Fruit 
Gardiner given fome diredions about 
the preparing of earth, in fuch a man- 
lier as that it may accelerate the growth 
pf all fruits and vegetables to a greater 
degree of perfeftion than has ufually 
been done 5 fo I fhall now fct down 
fome other compofitions, fuch as will 
fitft ferve for the impregnation of corn 
that you fow in the open field, which 
water will, after fuch impregnation, be 
of excellent ufe in the watering not 

only 



44 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 



only your vines and fruit-trees, but alfo 
collyflowers, and many other herbs and 
plants, de%n*d for culinary ufes, and 
fuch as muft caufc them to vegete, prof- 
per and grow extraordinary large, even 
much beyond the common fize. 
offomenje- It is Very well known, that brine 
fmpngmt- i^^de of fait, or fuch as is taken out of 
e4 -water, the falting-tub where bacon has been 
^Irlun"nd^^^^^^' and mix'd with lime, is a very 
tnakmg ufcful watcr to brinc wheat with, as 
fruits and the couutry farmer calls it, both as it 
ear^Znd^ ^^^^^^ it to fwcll and germinate the bet- 
large, tcr, and as it keeps the wheat from 
blighting, and makes it grow the larger, 
and bear the better. But there are o- 
ther methods for the impregnation of 
corn for the fame purpofes, which may 
alfo very well ferve for the fruit and 
kitchen garden. The firft method is the 
boiling of fait, falt-peter, chamber-lee 
and horfepond-water together, as much 
as the quantity of your corn requires ; 
and after that is done, put your corn 
to fteep into it for twenty four hours, 
covering it clofe, and raifing the liquid 
full four inches above the grain. 

A fecond fort of water is thus pre- 
fcrib'd i provide three large old casks^ 

and 



T'he Tra£ikal Kitchen Gardiner. 

and ftave out the heads of them, and 
put in them almoft whatever comes in 
your way, as bones of all forts of ani- 
mals, feathers, fhreds of leather, old 
gloves, old fhocs, hoofs of horfes and 
other beafts j in a word, any thing that 
abounds in fait, break the bones, and 
cut the reft in pieces. In the firft cask 
put whatever will fooneft infufe, that 
is to fay, the fofteft ; in the fecond, 
thofe that are not fo foft ; and in the 
third, the hardeft fubftance of all 5 then fill 
up all three with rain or river water 5 the 
water of pools or ponds, I recommend 
next 5 but well-water laft of all. What 
is in the firft cask, ftiould be infus'd four 
days, the fecond fix days, and third 
eight days, that each of them may have 
their proper aliment extraded from them.' 
After this infufion, feparate the water 
from the fubftance. In the next place, 
take as many pounds of faltpeter as you 
have acres of land 5 for each acre, or 
barrel of water, dilTolve a pound of 
fait in twelve pints of water that drains 
from the dunghill 5 and when the falt- 
peter is quite melted, throw in an equal 
quantity of the water out of each cask, 
and the corn being covered five or fix 
z inches 



^ioe Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

inches thick, and foak'd for about twelve 
or fixteen hours, you will have your 
corn well impregnated, and alfo an ex- 
cellent water for your fruit and kitchen 
garden, ot indeed meadow or corn, or 
any thing elfe of this kind. 

I (hall add but one methbd more, 
which is to take the dung of cows, 
horfes, fheep and pigeons, of each a 
like quantity, put the whole together 
into a veffel of wood or copper, upon 
which pour water boiling hot, and fo 
leave it for three or four days, more or 
lefs, as your leifure will permit, till it 
has extrafted all the quintelTencc of the 
compounds that was put into it, then 
pour out the water from that ordure in* 
to another velTel, into which put as ma- 
ny pounds of nitre as you have acres of 
ground, or barrels of liquor, and when 
the nitre is melted, put thereinto your 
corn, which when foak'd eighteen or 
twenty hours, more or lefs as you fee 
occafion, let the liquor remain for wa- 
tering your fruits, legumes, braflica or 
cabbages, c^r. 

Far be it from me, that I fiiould recom- 
mend the foregoing procefs and expence 
except it be in little plantations and com- 

pafs 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner] A/f 



pafs of ground, fince it would be impot 
fible to do the fame in large extenfivc 
gardens $ but for a gentleman who has 
but two or three acres of ground, fup- 
pofe it were to be four or five, what ad- 
vances are there that he might not make 
in all hortulan and culinary produdions-* 
Nor do I recommend it for tender fal- 
letings, melons, c^^. when young j but 
for vegetables of a more rapacious na- 
ture, fuch as collyflowers, ire, but for 
vines, peaches, (^c, nothing can equal 
it. And fo much concerning water. 

SECT. IL CHAP. VI. 

Of melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, gourds , 
6cc. their appellations and kinds , dec. 

TH E melon, by the Latins call'd of the 
alfo melo, is the principal fruit of 
all the kinds which are rcduceable to 
this head, as it is indeed of the richeft 
flavour and tafte of any of them, and 
is fo caird; as Talladius, and from him, 
Bauhinus tcftifies, from a * Greek word 

* Tria cucumeris generis ftatui poflunt, cuciimer, pepo 
5: melo hoc genus Palladius melones quafi y^Xoyoic, id ell, 
pomcos, a malonim figura appellavit Bauhin, 

I ' that 



4S T^he Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

that impiies the refemblance the fhape 
of it has to the mains or apple, or per- 
haps rather the orange kinds : To which 
alfo the cucumbers and pumpkin> gourd, 
&c. are alfo ally'd. 
Its appella- The melon, at leaft the name of it, 
appears to be a fruit entirely unknown 
to many of the antients, fince T/mf, 
who colleded a great part of his Natural 
Hijiory from others, mentions no fuch 
thingj tho' he had extraded thofe chap- 
ters (efpecially the XX^*^) from no lefs 
than twenty (even very ancient authors 
and writers of gardening 5 among which 
were Varro, SyllanOy Cato the Cenfor, 
Columelky Virgily &c, nor do we find 
it in any of thofe authors themfelves 
that have come to hand here 5 and of 
this opinion alfo were Scaliger and Can- 
fabon 5 which yet others contradid, as 
fuppofmg it to be couched under the 
general term of cucumber 5 and this al- 
fo feems to be unknowingly confirm'd 
by P//>y' himfelf, when he tells us that 
the * odour of the cucumber was of a 
very refrelhing nature when pared and 

Ipfe cucumis odore defe£lum animi revocat, ^erafo 
cortice ex oleo, aceto, &c. lii^^io. cap.z, 

drelTed 



The Tragical, Kitchen Gardiner. 49 

drejQTed with oil, vinegar and honey^ 
a compofition always ufed by the an<:i- 
cnts^ fugar not being then known 5 from 
whence it may well be concluded, that 
it could not be our common cucumber 
that is there meant, but rather the me- 
lon j and whoever reads how artificially 
they were cultivated, and exposed to the 
hotteft fun, and what pains and care v/as 
taken about them for their Emperor 77- 
beriuSy who was a great lover of them, can- 
not doubt of the truth of this fuppofition. 

At their firft coming into Engltzfidy And kinJsl i 
there were but two kinds that bur me- 
lonifts and herbalill"s took notice of, 
*uiz, the melo ^vulgaris, or ordinary musk 
melons and the fecond kind, the melo 
maximus but fince that there are al- 
moft innumerable kinds that have been 
brought to us from Italy France mi 
SpaiUy which have not been as yet (that 
I know of) reduced into any particular 
order or method, nor no otherwife df- 
ftinguifhed than by their fhapes and fizes, 
whether great or fmall, ribb'd or fmooth, 
of the early or late kind, as they are in 
their own fpecific nature and figure. 

There is alfo a winter or rather wa- 
ter melon, with lars;e black feeds, fohie 
' \ of 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

of which I have this year receiv*d from 
France, and is fo callM, for that in hot 
climates they drink water after them, 
but in colder without difpute wine is to 
be prefcrr'd. 

1 note, that the early melons a^e ge- 
nerally the fmalleft, and the middle 
fiz'd and largeft fucceed each other ac- 
cording to their weight and fize, and is 
of fo cooling and exhilarajlng a nature 
in a good year, when they are fweet, 
dry, weighty and well fed, that they 
are not only fuperior to all the gourd 
kind, but equal if not excelling the 
noblcft produdions of the garden. 

There are feveral matters that are ve- 
ry eflentiaily neceffary to be confidered 
and prepared for the melonry, before a 
gentleman can proceed with any tolera- 
ble profpcd of fuccefs, as alfo feveral 
things to be premifed relating to the 
government and fecurity of them, all 
which I fhall treat of in the following 
order. As firft, the fituation, earth, wa- 
ter and covering proper for them. Se- 
condly, of the properties of the feed, 
age and manner of faving and keeping it. 
Thirdly, of the time and method for fow- 
ing melons, making the hot-bed culture 

after 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 

after fowing, &c. Fourthly, of the 
tranfplanting them out of the feed in- 
to the nurfery-bed, fliading, watering, 
giving them frefh earth, and otiier cul- 
ture. Fifthly, of making the ridges, 
tranfplanting, watering, pruning, ^c. 
Sixthly, and laft of all, the properties of 
good melons, the time of their perfec- 
tion, and method of gathering, preferv- 
ing, cutting, d?"^. 

SEGT. 11. CHAP. VIL 
Of the f tuation proper for a melonry. 

THE firft thing to be done, is the 
proper choice of a fituation or 
place for the melonry, the pofition of 
which fliould be towards the South- 
Eaft, that the fun may dry away the 
dews that generally rife from the ftcam 
of the hot-bed, and hang upon the glaf- 
fes in a morning, as well as for the 
other advantages it receives all the fore- 
part of the day, when the fun is much 
more healthful and nourifhing to mau;, 
beaft and plants, than it is in the after- 
noon. A good warm gravel or chalk 
pit, or indeed a pit of any kind that 
E 2 lies 



The V radical Kitchen Gardiner. 

lies open, to the South-Eaftern embraces 
of the fun^ and where tlie winds may 
blow over it, is a very good fituation ; 
becaufe there the winds do not only 
blow over, but the beams of the fun 
are more comprefsxi and kept in : It- his 
indeed one difadvantage, that it pens in 
the winds as well as the fun 5 but this 
mufl: be remedied by reed-hedges, and 
the planting efpalier and ftandard tre'^eS 
at fome certain diftance, to break thofe 
winds that are fo pernicious or hurtful 
to the melonry, or for them to lodge 
or be loft in j which all trees arid hedges 
are more apt to do, becaufe the winds 
lodge foftly in them, and don't rever- 
berate as they do in walled gardens. 
The next plate I have fubjoined as a 
proper plan for fuch a melonry. Th^ 
trees> both for hedges and ftandards, 
which I would advife, are either of yew, 
which is very thicjc as well as durable, 
or of elm, which may juftly be account- 
ed the moft hofpitable. friendly plant 
that grows j and on this much depends 
for the prevention of thofe violent gufts 
of wind that blow in fuch a violent 
and pernicious manner (efpecially in rhJ 
fpring) as to difap point the tender eft of 
our hopes and wifhes. Surf 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 5 3 
Sure it is from experience, that mt-ofmsanh 
Ions require fo mucli flronger earth ^^^^^^ ^jj/""^ 
the cucumbers do, efpecialiy when they 
come to be ridged out, for want of 
which it often happens that melons die 
and go off as foon as they come to 
fruit, and the fruit grows yellow and 
drops off ; or if it does dwindle along 
for fome time, it is flat, infipid, and 
good for nothing, when we exped its 
perfeftion. 

Por melons then take the following p^^^^^«</^;, 
account for a preparation for earth. ^Z^^^'^^^'' 
One load of old melon earth, or dung"^^^^''^* 
that is well confumed, one load of 
burn-bak'd earth, or fuch as the farmers 
in the Weft country burn on their fheep- 
downs, which is exceeding good in all 
garden compofts 5 and one load of loam, 
fomething inclinable to fand 5 and, if it 
can be got, one fourth of a load of 
fea-fand, that has lain fome time till 
the fire of the fait is qualified 5 or in 
the room of it, fheep or deers dung, 
the fame quantity ; let all this be mix'd 
together the preceding fumnier before 
you intend to make ufe of it, and well 
turn d, air'd, and meliorated, and about 
Michaelmasy or towards Chrijimasy let 

E 3 it 



The apical Kitchen Gardiner, 5 3 

Sure it is from experience, that mt-ofxheeanh 
Ions require fo mucli flronger earth than ^^J-^J^ /''^ 
the cucumbers do, efpecialiy when they ''^^^" 
come to be ridged out, for want of 
which it often happens that melons die 
and go off as foon as they come to 
fruit, and the fruit grows yellow and 
drops ofF^ or if it does dwindle along 
for fome time, it is flat, infipid, and 
good for nothing, when we expeft its 
perfeftion. 

Por melons then take the ioWowm^ ^repamm 
account for a preparation for earth. 
. One load of old melon earth, or dung'"'^^''^* 
. that is well confumed, one load of 
' burn-bak'd earth, or fuch as the farmers 
in tiie Weft country burn on their fheep- 
downs, which is exceeding good in all 
garden compofts 5 and one load of loam, 
fomething inclinable to fand 5 and, if it 
can be got, one fourth of a load of 
fea-fand, that has lain fome time till 
the fire of the fait is qualified j or in 
the room of it, fheep or deers dung, 
the fame quantity 5 let all this be mix'd 
together the preceding fummer before 
you intend to make ufe of it, and well 
turn d, air'd, and meliorated, and about 
Michaelmas^ or towards ChriJlmaSy let 

E 3 it 



54 "^he TraSfical Kitchen Gardiner. 

it be put into a fhed, which ought to 
be adjoining to the melonry for that 
purpofe, and there kept during the rains 
of the winter, which will caufe it other- 
wife to be clammy and wet, and confe- 
qucntly dull and fluggifh, and too heavy 
and inadiye for the purpofe it is de- 
Jign'd for. And this earth is in general 
good for melons when they are put to 
ridge 5 but as you are to ufe it firft of 
all in raifing frames and beds for plants 
in the fced-lcavcs, it ought to be a lit- 
tle lighter, and fo confequently to have 
half a load more of the old melon earth 
to one load of the abovefaid preparation. 
0/ rcaicr The ncxt rcquifitc for your melonry, 
i/Tmefol. §^^^ water, for that is fo clTential a 
point, tho' I believe not very much 
minded, that there are fome kinds of 
water that will impoverifh the beft and 
richefl: earths to fuch a degree that the 
plants that grow therein do in a little 
time grow fick, and dwindle away, and 
come to nothing. I have already given 
an account of the feveral properties of 
water, and how conducive all or mofl: 
pf them are to the bufinefs of vegeta- 
tion s but what I v/ould more particu^ 
iarly recommend in this place, is that 
^ ^ which 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 5 5 

which is afllgiVd for the melonry, which 
ought to be ftrip'd of its crudity, and 
that corroding quality whicii is fo in- 
jurious and deftrudive to herbs and 
plants. The water that proceeds from 
a horfe-mixen is reckon'd feme of the 
befl: that can be ufed for watering a me- 
lonry^ but then it muft be when they 
are ridged, and then (as indeed muft all 
meliorated and compound waters) it muft 
be ufed carefully, and put under the 
vines and leaves, or the water pour'd on 
at fome diftan^e from the roots ; for all 
thofe fort of waters have a kind of fire 
and heat in them which proceeds from 
the dung, that will burn up and deftroy 
the verdure of the vines and leaves, and 
damage the fruit too. For plants that 
are fmall, and in their feed-leaves, it 
"fiiould be only clear water that has 
" Hood a day or two in the fun to warm 
' and foften its and if it has any ill qua- 
lity, put thereinto a bag of barley 5 or 
''^iet it be the water that is drawn off' 
from the malfter*s fat, which is of great 
"tjenefit to correft the coldnefs and cru- 
dity thereof. 

The next preparation for the melon- of framti 
rv is good slafles, without which thef^"?^'* 
^^r, ^ E 4 ' nielon 



"The '^TaWtcal Kitchen Gar dim. 

hielbh merchant can't poflibly efFeft his 
purpofe, cither in the feed, bed or ridge, 
efpecially his raifing-frarnes fhould fhat 
yery clofe and true, to keep out all the 
^malignant and exterior air, the frames 
well dove-tail'd together, and the glafs 
well cemented with good old well pre- 
par'd putty, to keep the wet fromxorh- 
'ing in, which is exceedingly jpernicibus 
;to, young and as yet tender plants 5 the 
frames fhould be of the drieft and beft 
;feafon d oak, and fuch as will not wairp, 
!for if it does it, would be impbflible for 
the glaffes, to fhut clof(; ' at top, /and 
! mould be 'primed twice or tluice, and 
painted white, and fo let fta'nd to dry 
well all the fummer before, if poffible, 
^or elfe the oil and paint will, while It 
is green, liquidate and run off upon 
your plants, and fpoil them \ and like- 
wife your glafs, with its wooden ^mar- 
gin, lliould fland all the fummer beifore 
a drying, it being impoflible but that 
green putty will let in the wet, arid con- 
fequently cobl your hot-bed and injtirc 
your prints. The raifing- frames mky 
be about four foot and a half long, 
and three foot, or three foot four inches 
wide, the Tore part fix inches, on the 

back 



The ^rdBicd Kitchen Gardiner. 



57 



back part, twelve or fourteen inches 
high ; as I faid before, well grov'd or 
dove-taird together, inftead of nail'd, 
which is but poor work. The proper- 
Vies and dimenfions of thofe frames that 
are defign'd for the fecond planting muft 
be about fix foot, and three foot, or 
three foot and half wide, twelve or 
fourteen inches high behind, and fix or 
eight inches high before; each frame to 
have two gtaffes, as the ridge frames 
have three. 

The frames defignd for the ndgts of ridge 
ought to be feven and a half or oi^htf^-^^^^ f^^ 
foot long, and three foot wide, of a-'^'^'"'*^^' 
bout twelve or fourteen^nches high be- 
hind, and fix inches high before, and 
]*tp ' be ditided into three lights, the 
frames to Aide clofe by one another, 
' arid the crofs-bar that the frame lies up- 
6n to have a grove down the middle 
' of it, Vhat the wet mdy run off without 
'''^amagihg the plants. Some there are 
^^'^hat m^ke Aiding fquares at the backs 
^'6f thefe frames, that have a Aider like 
' the lid of a' tinder-box 5 but thefe are 
\hot fo much in ufe as heretofore, be- 
'taufe the air gufhes in with too great 
'' Violence j the tilting the glaffes with a 

wifp 



5S 



The Traiiical Kitchen Gardiner. 



wifp of hay or ftraw, when little air is 
required, or a tile, brick, or piece of 
wood when a great deal, anfwers much 
better, becaufe the air difperfes it felf 
all over better fo than when it comes 
thro' fo large an opening, and docs lefs 
hurt. It would be needlefs for me, af- 
ter all that I have faid on the furniture 
of the melonry, to fay much of mat- 
ting and covering, all which is obvious 
to the leaft praftitioners in this art. 

SECT. II. CHAP. VIII. 

Of melon feed, its properties, age^ man- 
ner of faving and keeping, 

of melon TQRopcr earth, water, frames and co- 
^Ztimefs*' XT ^'^^i^g being provided before, the 
mdaifotke melonift fliould lik'ewife be beforehand 
mam crops. the choicc of his fccdp I havp alrea- 
dy noted, that early melons are gene- 
rally the fmalleftr whereas later melons 
are all larger, more ribb'd, snd better 
and weightier melons, fince in pur cli- 
mate, late and uncertain as it is, any 
thing that comes very early is rather ow- 
ing to fome imperfedi'on in nature than 
not, tho' the difference may not be very 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. fg 

If you would chufe therefore for ear- 
ly melons, you fhould chufe of the 
fmalleft kinds, but particularly of thofe 
that are apt to knit at the firft or fc- 
cond joint, for which fome are more 
apt and difpofed than others; but time 
has pointed out thofe that are amongft 
the melons, as it has amongft peas, 
beans, cucumbers, and others of the 
hortulan and vegetable tribes. But thefe 
melon feeds muft be coliefted by long 
acquaintance, diligence and experience, 
there being little to depend upon of 
thefe kinds that are bought at the feed- 
mens fhops in London^ or elfewhere 5 
the early green little melon, and the 
Anjou or Icay melon being the chiefeft 
of this clafs. 

Of the middling kind of melon feed, 
or thofe that are defign'd for the main 
crop, there are almoft innumerable kinds 
that are to be colleded, and that with 
little coft, in almoft any garden of ac- 
count now in Englandy this fruit being 
fo very common. 

But there are fome obfervations on 0/ the ag$ 
the age, and manner of faving it, and"/ ^^^'^ 
the time when it Is proper to fow it/method % 
that xnuft not be omitted in this phccjavm^ it. 

■ As 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

As to the age of it, it is generally fup- 
pofed that melon feed will laft eight or 
ten years good , and fome will even 
ver, that the longer it is kept the bet- 
ter 5 and this indeed holds good in re- 
lation to forward melons, where the 
fubftance of the feed being in a great 
meafure fpent, the plants don't grow fo 
much to vine, but are confequently dif- 
pofed to bear the better 5 which is the 
jeafon that I would ad vife ^l that fow 
for the firft crop to ufe feed from four 
to five or fix years old, but more I wou'd 
not advife, but rather that which is 
newer 5 but then on the other hand, if 
you would have a general crop, feed two 
or three years old is the beft, and throws 
out the ftrongeft if not the moft fruit, 
and is generally fuller, and better fed. 
And thus much as to the proper age 
of feed. The next is the manner of 
faving it; in which I conceive majiy 
of our beft gardiners are miftaken, who 
depend only upon thofe melons that are 
juft fit for cutting for their feed ; fince 
many of them are immature, and not 
full ripe 5 and how then fhould the feed 
be fit to produce good fruit another 
feafon > 

Mr. 



T^he Tra&ical Kitchen Gardiner. 6i 

Mr. 2)^ la §luintinge in that fhort 
account he (or Mr. Evelyn for him) 
gives of the melons, advifcs that the 
feed fiiould be faved out of that fide of 
the melon that lies next the fun ; as 
fuppofing that on the oppofite fide the 
fun has not had elFed enough to ripen 
the feed to any degree of perfedion j 
but if that were all, the method the 
melonifts of thefe times ufe in turning 
the melon fide for fide, is a means by 
which one fide of the fruit participates 
of the benefits of the fun as well as the 
other. But the beft method of faving 
melon feed is to let fuch as are the 
beft kinds, and thofe intended for feed;; 
to lie unpuU'd or ungather'd till the^ 
are over-ripe, and as it were rotten; by 
which method the feed is fully fed with 
the juice of the melon, and confequent- 
ly is not fo imperfed, husky and light 
as it is when taken out of melons 
that are half ripe ; and of this I would 
have all curious melonifts take heed 5 
nor let the lover of melons be fo ear- 
neft as not to fuffer this piece of good 
husbandry, tho' it be a denial to the pa- 
late for a year or two, fince he will be 
aiTuredly repaid for it in years to come; 

neither 



6z The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner] 

neither can he be altogether wanting at 
that time; though it muft be confeiVd 
that all fuch feed fhould be faved from 
the firft main crop , or to fpeak more 
intelligibly, the firft melons that are fet 
on the ridges. 
oftheheef' The next thing I would recommend 
ing of the to the care of the curious, is to keep 
their feed (after having well clean d and 
dry'd it in a moderate fun) is to put 
it up in paper bags, and the kinds be- 
ing numbred, or wrote on and referred 
to, let it be put in a room not very 
damp nor very dry, for the one would 
mold the feed, and the other dry it up ; 
but in a middling room, where the air 
nor damp has much power, opening 
the bags and ftirring the feeds once a 
month, or thereabouts 5 and in winter, 
damp, cold, wet weather, to take the 
advantage of a warm fun-fhiny day to 
fpread them open, and dry them, and 
then put them up in their bags again, 
and place them from whence they were 
brought. 

Your fituation, earth, glalTcs, feed, &c. 
being thus prepared beforehand, and eve- 
ry thing in a readinefs, the careful me- 
lonift is to confider about the time, me- 
thod 



The VraEiical Kitchen Gardiner . 



thod and manner of fowirig his feed, 
and to be always beforehand in his con- 
fiderations about the tranfplanting and 
removing them, fince without this his 
plants may grow fick and ftunted upon 
his hands, and fo contaminate and die 
without any poffibility of retrieving 
them. 



, SECT. IL CHAP. IX, 

Of the time and method for fowing me^ 
Ion feeds y fnaking the hot-bed culture 
after fowing-^ dec. 

MAny are the methods and feafons 
that melonifts ufe in fowing 
their melons/ fome beginning very early, 
and others later, all of them with difFe^ 
rent fuccefs, as the feafon of the year, 
the good or bad fituation on which they 
are placed, or what is more, than olij: 
diligence and care gives leave. 

It is known from experience, that 
early cucumbers, which are carry'd on 
with fuccefs, and without any Hunting, 
will be ready to cut in about eight or 
ten weeks from the feed 5 but it is welJ 
if melons can be fo expedited as to cut 
I in 



64 T^he ^raBical Kitckm Qardinier. 

in three ox fou^ months 5 and here in- 
deed the e^rlinefs and gpodnefs of the 
feed, together \vitH the warmnefs 
fecurity of the place, has a great band. 
If the >y^ather proves gpqd, you majj 
few youf melons (of the early kind) 
bout the or of February \ tho* if 
it fiiould prove but indifferent, i^ ai^ 
probability thofe that are fown about 
the middle or latter end of the fame 
month, or the beginning of March^ may 
be as forward 5 hovv^ever, it is not pro- 
per to fow all your early fee4 ^ pnce, 
but at two or three tim^es, that in cafe 
one crop miffes, another may hit. And 
the firft thing to be dpne, is the nurfery 
or feed-bed. 
Of mahing You are to get together what quan- 
the^ melon xlty of dung you fhall think fufficient 
' ' to make your nurfery-bed, which may 
be about four or five foot wide, fix or 
feven foot long, and about four foot, 
or four foot and half high : let it be of 
the dung that the horfes have made for 
one, two, three or four weeks paft (a- 
mongft which no hog's or other cattle 
fiiould be admitted, becaufe they fpoil 
the goodnefs of it ) and let an equal 
quantity, of two load, more or iefs, of 
4 every 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

every one of thofe weeks dung be car- 
ried to the melonry, and there laid down 
feparatcly, and about a load of cole-afhes^ 
or tanner's bark by it, then let all the 
ingredients be caft together into one 
heap, and well mix'd in the cafting. 
The fea-coal afhcs or tanner's bark be- 
ing mix d amongfl: it, is in order to make 
the bed retain its heat the longer 5 tho' 
fome lay it in layers as the bed is made 
up, then let the whole fweat together 
for two or three days, whilft the fury 
of it be a little abated, and the heat be 
brought to be a little more regular ; 
when the two or three days are expired, 
make the dung fo caft up into a long 
fquare bed, of the dimenfions before di- 
reded, treading it pretty well, but not 
too hard 5 and when that is done, and 
you have put in a layer of old rotten 
dung of the laft year's making, in order 
to keep the too violent heat of the bed 
down 5 put on your raifing- frame, as 'tis 
ufually call'd, and the next day put oq 
the earth, being mix'd and kept as be- 
fore dirededj and if the weather is ve- 
ry cold, or you don't find the heat rife 
in your bed in good order, wrap it round 
warm with two or three bundles of 
F wheat 



66 The T tactical Kitchen Gardiner. 



wheat ftraw, which will foon raife the 
heat, and in a day or two you may 
fow your feed as foon as you find the 
earth is warmiHi. Some ftccp the feeds 
in warm milk for fourteen or fifteen 
hours 5 which is not an unneceffary pre- 
caution, efpccially when the feed is old. 
And thus may your bed remain for four 
or five days, only tilting the glaffcs a 
little, if it be any thing of good wea- 
ther, and letting in of fo much fun and 
air as will dry the glaffes of the ficam 
which naturally arifes from the hot-bed. 
of the cut' About four or five days after the feed 
iure after is fowu, as I havc juft uow intimated, 
fonotng, .J. ^^'^yy appear above ground; but they 
muft not as yet, if the weather Ihould 
prove fine, have too much fun, becaufe 
it will be apt to draw up the heat of 
the bed too fall; but as the temper of 
the bed appears to be, they are to have 
either more or lefs fun and air, only 
in the morning , as foon as the fun ap- 
pears pretty firong, or indeed at all live- 
ly, you muft, not only w^hile they are in 
their feed-leaves, but aifo always after- 
wards, turn the glaftes upfidc down, 
and brufh off the dews or fleam that 
has arifen from the bed the night be- 
I fore. 



The Tra5iical Kitchen Gardiner. 

fore, and as much as you can diy the 
under-fide of the glafs, thofe drops be- 
ing very pernicious to your tender plants $ 
and as the furious heat of the bed ex- 
pires and grows more regular, your ten- 
der plants grow more ftrong, then you 
may give them more fun and air, al- 
ways keeping, as well now as hereafter, 
iome flicks about a foot or two long, 
by pulling of v/hich now and then out 
of the bed, you may perfectly difcern 
in what temper the bed is 5 if too hot, 
and that the fiick does as it were fcald 
or burn your fingers, then you muft gee 
a ftrong iron bar, and making feveral 
great holes into the fides of the beds, 
the fury of the heat may pafs out, and 
then there muft be more air given be- 
tween the frame and the glailcs : but if 
the heat of the bed abate, and it be 
coldifh, then muft new dung be apply'd 
to the fides, to ftrike frefh heat into 
the bed, in the doing of all which 
there muft be the greateft care, and per- 
petual watching and infpeding the tem- 
per of your bed 5 for in that, the whole 
fuccefs of your melons and cucumbers 
confifts 5 for, as has been before obferv'd, 
if once your plants are burnt by too 
F z much 



The TrdUtical Kitchen Gardiner. 

much heat, or fluntcd by the coldncfs 
of the bed, or any other negled, it 
will be impoflible to recover them a- 
gaia, and plants newly fown are much 
to be preferred" before them, and tho' 
it is true that there is no very great oc- 
cafion to urge what has been let down 
on this head, on account of the feed- 
bed ; yet I thought I could not enter 
the fc cautions too foon, and they fliall 
be repeated as often as it comes in my 
way, that they may make the greater 
imprellion on my readers. And here 
I can't but remark an error which I think 
is very obvious, in my ingenious friend 
Mr. Bradley^ who advifes the fowing 
melons in October ; becaufe how agree- 
able foever it may at firfl: fight appear 
to be, yet experience tells us, that both 
melon and cucumber plants will not ad- 
mit of any ftoppage at all, but muft be 
carry'don with full career from the time 
of their fowing, till you reap the fruit; 
and if once futFer'd to be at a ftand, as 
cabbage, coUyflowers, and other gardea 
vegetables do, they are good for no- 
thing; or elfc we might indeed have 
melons very early, by that method this 
•gentleman aims at. 

SECT. 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 



69 



SECT. II. CHAP. X. 

Of the tranfplanting them out of the 
feed into the nurfery-bed, jhading, wa- 
terings giving them frejh earth, air, 
&c. 

BY an infpcftion into the culture o^Anomtjjim 
melons, as delivered by fome of our f^^^^^^ ff^ 
modern authors, I find little notice taken /or^trJf- 
of a fecond bed, or beds, to be madc/'^^"''"^ ^ 
for the pricking melons and cucunibers^^f^^,^^^* ^ " 
out from the feed- bed, tho' it is the 
conftant pradice of all melonifls, and 
the omitting of which is, I humbly con- 
ceive, the giving very infperfed: direc- 
tions to the learner, in this fo ufcful 
an art, fince there is no praditioner that 
does not know that neither melons nor 
cucumbers are tranfplanted direftly out 
of the feed-bed into the fecond bed : 
and 'tis indeed in the fecond bed that 
there is required all the care and dili- 
gence I have before laid down as to the 
feed- bed, fince 'tis here they mifcarry, 
as much or more than any where. 

When the plants in the feed-bed come of the time 
to be pretty ftrong, which they will be;{^'^j^2 



7h€ TraStical Kitchen Gardiner. 

in eight or ten days after they appear^' 
then the feed-leaves will be as broad as 
a fix-pence, and then 'tis that the care- 
ful melonijfi: mufr make this fecond bed. 
It mufr be about twelve or fourteen foot 
long, and five foot wide, according to 
the fize of his frames, which for this 
fecond bed fhould be of two lights of 
equal dimenfion with thofe of one light 
for the feed-bed : This bed muft be made 
w^ith all the caution that I have given 
in the firft, and fhould ftand three or 
four days Vn' ith the earth on, before you 
plant your plants therein, that you m,ay 
the better difcover its temper 5 for if 
it Ihould heat and rage to any great 
degree, and the plants Ihould be burnt;, 
you have all your work to begin anew 
again 5 but if it fliould heat but {lowly, 
it will be very eafy to quicken it by the 
methods I have laid down in the fore- 
going directions, viz. by well cloathing 
of it with clean wheat-ftraw, or new- 
lining the bed with dung 5 but this laft 
precaution rarely happens to new made 
beds, except in extream cold weather. 

But the bed being thus made, and 
earthed about fix or eight inches thick, 
ire, the plants may be planted out in 

about 



T1oe TraSfical Kitchen Gardiner. 

about two, three, or four days after, ac- 
cording to its temper, as before fet 
down 5 let it be in rows about three 
inches afunder one from another, and 
about two inches apart in the rows, 
keeping every kind of melon by it fclf, 
as it was wlien you fow'd the feed, that 
fo yon may diftinguifh the fcveral kinds, 
and plant an equal or fuch a quantity 
of each as you fhall beft like 5 giving 
the preference to fuch only as are ex- 
quifitely good. 

There are many that tranfplant their 
plants out of the feed-bed into baskets 
or little pots, and fo remove them from 
bed to bed, till they come to the ridge. 
And this has indeed been the method 
of many praclitioners for fome years i 
tho' now in a great meafure laid afide, 
for that the often tranfplanting them 
entirely naked out of one bed into an- 
other, is found to make them take ne- 
ver the better and frefher roots 5 where- 
as they don't do fo the other way , and 
tho' by the other way I am now talk- 
ing, the plants are lefs check'd, that the 
checking is rather an advantage to the 
bearmg and profperity of the plant than 
not 5 and experience teacTies us how well 
F 4 thefc 



72 The TraEtical Kitchen Gardiner, 

thcfe plants profpcr in frefli mold, after 
they are newly planted and recovered 
again, tho* I fhould advife a trial of this 
way too. 

ofroatermg As foon ss they are planted you mufl: 
0/ meion^ giye them fome water, to make them 
fecmd kd. ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ better 5 and fhade them 
with mats for a day or two, and after 
that Vv^ith clean wheat-ftraw, that the 
fun may glimmer in, and the plants 
get ftrength by degrees. Thus let them 
remain for a fortnight, taking great care 
to give them what air is requifite ta 
keep them from running up long-legged 
and weak, which they will do, if kept 
too clofe, and be fo weak as to be good 
for little or nothing. And every morn- 
ing, as foon as the fun has got a little 
llrength, and it be v/arm, lay them open 
to its cheerful embraces, and dry the 
i^lafTes in the manner as has been direft- 
cd in the laft fedion. I have never yet 
prov'd wiiat Mr. Bradley recommends, 
as to the putting of a dry woolen cloth 
juft under the glaflcs, to receive all that 
moiilure and fceam that is fo pernicious 
to plants in their infancy, and which 
tarniOics and burns them in dry hot wea- 
ther, and is fo apt to rot them in wet ; 

but 



The TraBicd Kitchen Gardiner. 

but recomrncd it to the trial of tliofe 
who have leifure for the experiment. 

To what has been faid, likewife let 
it be added, that the careful melonift 
throws fome clean wheat ftraw over his 
glaffes in all violent hot weather, of 
which there happens now and then a 
day in the coldeft feafons; and it is of 
that intenfenefs, that it does a prodigi- 
ous deal of hurt to plants that have been 
all along ufed to but little fun. Strange 
is it indeed in England^ that there Ihould 
be occafion of this precaution 5 but fuch 
is the inftability and uncertainty of our 
climate. But to proceed. 

It is of great import likewife, 
that you water them with a fine rofe 
water-pot once in a week, or oftner, 
if the drynefs and finenefs of the wea- 
ther requires and will permit : But v/hat 
is of confiderable advantage to them, is 
the putting new frefh earth to the roots 
as they grow up, which, be as careful 
as ever you can, will be a little long- 
legged 5 the plants will ftrike frefh roots, 
by this earthing, quite up to the very 
leaf 5 and it will not add a little vieor 
to the health and well-doing of them. 
The watering above-mention'd fnould 

be 



The TraUical Kitchen Gardiner. 

be a3 Toon as the fun is ftrong enough 
for you to open your glaffes in the 
morning ; and the glaffes fhould remain 
off till the water is brufh'd oft^ the plants 
and fettled to the roots 5 and remember 
it fhould be of that water that comes 
out of the malfter's fat, and has been 
fet in fome tub or cover to warm > and 
if all that is wanting, water gently 
warm'd over a fire is of confidcrabie 
ufe 5 but the veffel you warm it in mufl: 
not be greafy. And if any part of the 
bed burns fo as to endanger the plants, 
the burnt or fcalded earth mufl: be fcrap'd 
away, and water pour d on that fiery 
place, and freih earth put in the room$ 
of which the tender plants themfelves 
will be faithful monitors, and by their 
ihrinking their heads give early notice 
of their misfortune. How happy is it 
to have a careful gardiner always at- 
tending his beds, and by watching to 
give them relief! but on the contrary, 
how many are there, that for one drun- 
ken fit lofe the labour of fome weeks ; 
and by this negled, the plants, remain- 
ing in this fl:ate, will, as jufl: hinted,, 
in about a fortnight or three weeks, be 
fit for planting in the ridge $ which will 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 7S 

be difcover'd by their making new joints, 
and burnifliing and fpreading into longer 
leaves, much different from the feed- 
leaves. All which fliould be haftned and 
expedited as you fee the decay of heat 
in your fecond bed requires ^ becaufe, 
as is before faid, if you now fuffer 
your plants to want heat, and to go 
back, they will never recover more, oi 
make any progrefs to any purpoft, 

SECT. II. CHAP. XI. 

Of the making ridges, tranfplanting, 
watering, Jhading, puning-, 6cc. 

IN about a month or five weeks time, of the 
or lefs, from the fowing, your me- tranfpUnt- 
Ion plants will be fit to plant out, which J^f 
fliould be after they have made five or into rUges: 
fix leaves befides the feed ones, and jufl: 
before they begin to run 5 for the put- 
ting it off longer will fpoil the plants, 
(but your cucumbers will be fit in lefs 
time) fo that about the 10^^ of March, 
when the fun begins to get ftrength, 
you may fafiely ridge out your firft crop 
of melons j (as you ought to have done 
your cucumbers twelve or fourteen days 

before;) 



76 The T radical Kitchen Gardiner. 

before 5) and towards the latter end of 
March, or beginning of JpriL the ridge 
for the main crop ought to be made 5 
by which means your melons will come 
in in good order, in May, June, July, 
or beginning of Auguft, after which me- 
lons iofe much of their true and natural 
tallc and goodnefs. This ridge ought to 
be four foot wide, and three foot high, 
and about thirty foot long, it being to 
hold four frames, in each of which are 
three holes, which make in all twelve 
holes, is fufficicnt for the firft crop, in the 
largefi: melonrics 5 three frames, making 
nine holes, and about twenty two foot 
long, or two frames, making about fifteen 
or fixteen foot long, containing fix holes, 
will be fufficicnt for a fmaller melonry, 
that is, for the firft and carliefl cropr 
of dung If the dung be dry, which can t be 
frcper for xvcll chofc iu a large defign for ridges, 
as for fmaller beds, it muft be mix'd 
well with that which is new and moid, 
and watered as you make it up 5 the 
dung having laid a day or two in fweat- 
ing, as is before fet dov/n. And as e- 
very yard long will take up two or three 
waggon load of dung, fo thereto fliould 
be added half a load of cole-afhes, or 
I tanner's 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. yy 



tanner's bark, either mix'd well toge- 
ther with the long dung, or laid in 
layers, about three or four layers in the 
height of the ridge, in order to make 
the dung heat with more gentlenefs, and 
retain its heat the longer 5 and on the 
top of all, there lliould be laid about 
five or fix inches thick of the old dung 
of laft year a little rotten, to deprefs 
the fury of the heat. 

And as it fometimes happens that new 
dung is fcarce to be had, new-mow'd 
grafs out of the garden- walks is very 
good, when mix'd with old long dung, 
which when mix'd alfo with fonie cole- 
alhes, or tanner's bark, will retain its 
heat as long as new dung will 5 in the 
mean time, if wet weather, or any o- 
ther accident fhould happen, the ridge is 
to be lin'd with dung, or clean wheat- 
ftraw 5 but this is not often wanted till 
the fruit is knitting. 

To proceed. The ridge being ready, of the 
the plants are to be fee out at qquA^'^-^^^'T^' 
dillances, three in a hole, according toimo tht 
the fizes of your frames 5 I mean, fo as''"^^^^* 
that the middle of every iiole fhould be 
juft in the middle of every light of glafs. 
Pegs or fticks m^de of wood, are to be 

fet. 



The Tra^iicat Kitchen Gardiner ; 

fet, and holes of about a foot and a 
half, or two foot diameter, made in the 
faid dung, into which you are to put 
the earth that I have at the beginning 
of thefe directions appointed , and let 
it be piled up round the peg or ftick in 
the nature of a hop-hill. The reafon 
for the making thefe holes in the mid- 
dle of the ridge for the melon plants, 
is, that the dung may nor be too near 
the roots, but may be fo far diftant as 
the fibres may not be in danger of be- 
ing burnt. But to proceed. Put on 
the frames for the ridge, and let them 
fraud for a day or two, in which time 
the heat of the bed will begin to rife j 
but if it fhould not, then cloath it with 
long dung, ftraw, haulm, matts, ^c. 
and it foon will. But if it be found 
that the heat of the ridge rifes too fafl:, 
and it be like to burn, uncover it, and 
open holes with an iron bar on the fides, 
as I have in other cafes of this nature 
prefcrib*d. In about three or four days, 
as you find the temper of the ridge is, 
plant out your melon plants, having 
due regard to the kinds as they ftand 
numbred wirh wooden labels or fi:icks, 
and referr'd to your diary. But the dung 

between 



The Ty attic al Kitchen Gardiner. 79 

between the holes remains ftill bare, 
and unfiird with earth , neither is it yet 
to be fiird, till the fmoke and fury of 
the ridge is over, which will endanger 
the burning of the plants if cover d too 
foon. 

The glaffes alfo that are frain d fhou*d 
not be put on till three or four days or 
a week are expir'd, but only hand-glaf- 
fes, or bells 5 for if the frame- glafles 
liiould be put on before the heat of 
the bed is a little alTwaged, there would 
be danger of the plants being fufFocated % 
but thefe glaffes fhould be cover'd like- 
wife with mattreffes or clean wheat- 
ftraw, as will hereafter be more di- 
refted. 

The plants fliould be watered immc- ofmtmng 
diately, as foon as they are tranfplanted, ^-"^^^""^ 
which ought to be in the morning orvT^^w- 
evening of fome fine day, (noon-tide f^^^^^^-^v/^^ 
not being fo proper) that they may not 
take harm in their removal, and fo be- 
ing cover'd up with all the clofencfs and 
fecurity that is confiftent with the tem- 
per of the bed, there let them remain 
fhut up for two or three days, till they 
have ftruck root, and can better bear 
the funs after which they muft be ufed 

to 



So The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

to it by degrees, putting on clean whcat- 
ftraw, or haulm, which will permit a 
fmall quantity of fun and air thorough, 
till taking it off by little and little, they 
be left quite naked, and by thofe fteps 
made to harden by degrees ^ all the 
while care being to be taken by flicks 
put into the bed, as before, to watch 
the motion of its heat, and be upon 
the guard againft its burning. 
Qf pruning Many are the methods that gardiners 
c/ and melonifts make ufe of in the culti- 
vation or pruning their melons ; but 
none there are, that I have found, ei- 
ther in books or pradice, that are bet- 
ter, if fo proper, as thofe that Monfieur 
^e la ^iintinge long fuice fent to Mr. 
Evelyn, which I fhall fet down, with 
fuch alterations and additions of my own 
as time and experience has direded. 

The firft thing appearing after the feed 
is fown, are a pair of fmall leaves, with 
them in France cali'd ears, but with us 
feed- leaves, only fo me time after appears 
between the two former a fingle leaf, 
w^iich may be cail'd the firft leaf, and 
is in cucumbers of a dark red, and in 
melons of a light green colour ; after 
which fucceeds, and oppofitc to it, an- 
other 



l^he Tragical Kitchen Gardimr. 

other of the fame kind 5 and from the 
middle of both there comes another, 
which we will call the third knot or 
pint 5 which third knot is always to be 
pinch'd off near the joint, in order to 
make the plant burnifh and fprcad the 
better ; but this pinching ought to be 
done fome days before you plant it in 
the ridge, or fome days after it is well 
cftablifn'd there s becaufe the pinching 
the vine, and tranfpianting it at the 
fame time, gives it fuch a check as it 
fcarce ever recovers 5 and tho' it may be 
an allowable practice on early melons, 
which can t be checked too much, fo as to 
make them bear, yet for the main crop 
you arc to follow the firft diredions; 
but this pinchuig before-mcntion'd fhould 
be done with very fharp nails, or rather 
fine fciifars, fo as not to wound or 
bruife the plant. But from thence, I 
mean from the laft nipping that the firft 
leader Ihoots out, and is that which 
will produce others, that may alfo be cal- 
led, firftj fecond, and third knots 5 which 
third or laft, and all fuch others as fhall 
fucceed, are to be nip'd off at fiich third 
joint \ which will always keep the plants 
fhort j and from thofe knots and joints 

G it 



S2 The Trafiical Kitchen Gardiner, 

it is that many other branches will in 
like manner proceed, knit, and form 
into excellent fruit, provided the plant 
be planted in good mold, and not hurt 
or burnt in the managing and covering. 
Morefuccefs It is not to bc forgot (fays my au- 

Iz/rS^*^^^' P' ^^^^ ^^'^^^ middle like- 
of melons, wife, between the feed-leaves, or large 
and two firft leaves, there frequently 
rifes another branch, which may be a- 
bated or left on, as it's likely to prove, 
efpecially if a vigorous one, which fhou'd 
then be took away, and the firft branches 
encouraged 5 as fhould likewife all others 
that fhoot upwards 5 becaufe it is not in 
the numbers, but in the quality and 
goodnefs of branches that a good melon 
plant confifts. And it muft be noted, 
that it is in this, as in every thing bearing 
fruit, it is the middling vines that bear 
the beft 5 on which account, all very vi- 
gorous and large runners fhould be nip'd 
oiF 5 as alfo many, or moft of thofe that 
are very weak and very fmall. And thus 
much for the firft pruning of melon 
plants, as they ftand either in the fecond 
bed, or in the ridge. / - 

0/ the fe- There is yet another prunirig, Which 
7ngcfml §^'^'^^ impoA as the firft/ or greater 5 

kns. and 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

and that is, when the fruit is about fet- 
ting, and as large as a fmall gcrkin or 
pickle cucumber 5 for it often happens, 
that for want of this the fap pafles on 
by the fruit that is newly fet, and runs 
towards the end or extremity of the 
vine, conducing to the lengthning it, and 
ftarves the fruit that is near the root 5 
at the fame time forming new fruit, 1 
whilft the old grows yellow, and falls 
off. And this indeed, both on account 
of pruning, and other care, is the moft 
critical time of all, efpecially if the wea- 
ther be cold, and the ridge failing in 
its heat. As to the. pruning part, I 
would not fhorten or prune the vines juft 
above the fruit, becaufc that would, if 
I may ufe fo vulgar a term, give fuch a 
rebuff, or rather check to nature, that 
the fruit would rather fufFcr, than be 
help'd and improved by it. I would 
therefore rather advife the pruning two 
or three joints above the fruit. Indeed 
by this means you will not have many 
melons to a vine, but they will be much 
better fed 5 two or three to a plant, that 
is, fix, eight or nine melons to a hole, 
is fufficient 5 but if ten or twelve be 
allow'd, it muft be faid to be a very 
G 2 good 



S4 The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 



good crop, and rather too much 5 but 
to be fure cut away all (mail weak vines 
and fruit. 

DireoHiom Souiewhat agteeable to this, is what 
k^^in-' Monfieur T>e la ^intinye direfts, who 
tinye, on tells US, That wlicn the foot of melon 
this point, plants grow over-luxurious in branches, 
the feebleft of them fhould be cut away, 
leaving not above three or four of the 
moft vigorous, and whofe knots grow 
near one another ; and when the me- 
lons are knit, fufFer not above two to 
each foot, chufuig fuch as are beft plac d, 
and neareft to the main and principal 
Hem, which fliould be thick, fnug, and 
not too far above the ground : Of thofe 
that are knit, and beginning to form, 
make choice of the handfomeft, that 
are well truffed with a thick fhort tail, 
melons with long tails, flender and nar- 
row leaves, never proving worth any 
thing. 

And the fame may be faid, as to the 
numberlefs fmall branches that will of- 
fer themfelves at remote diftances from 
the root, which if you let them alone, 
and don't Hop that exuberance in due 
time, and be not vigilant to reftrain them, 
*tis true they will (fays our ingenious au- 



The Tra£iical Kitchen Gardiner. % 5 



thor) prefent you with fruit at the ex- 
tremities of their branches, but 'tis little 
worth, as being fo far diftant from the 
root that the fap fpcnds it felf, in its 
tedious palTage, before it arrives, as you 
will find by its withered branches. 

Thus (fays he) you fee I am careful to 
purge the ftems of all the fmall, ftrag- 
gling, and unprofitable branches, from 
which there is no expedation of good 
fruit, whilft offending of thofe that have 
well-knit melons on them at the ends 
of their branches : I conftantly take a- 
way the end of that branch on this fide, 
(he fiiould have faid, on the extremity 
of the fruit, but the diftance he does not 
tell us,) which divaricating into other 
ufeiefs wanderers, would rob and de- 
prive the nutriment derived from the 
root 5 neverthelefs, with this caution, 
that fome other lefs noxious branches 
be left to fhade the fruit, that it be not 
left quite naked, and expofed to fuch a 
fcorching heat as would hinder its growth 
in coming to maturity, which is forty 
days in knitting into fruit, before it ar- 
rives to its full perfeftion. ^f,y 

1 have already hinted at what a oxAXA-nagememcf 
cal junfture it is when the fruit of me^'t'"^'^"/'^ 

' the fetmg 

U 3 Ions of the fruit. 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

Ions firft fets or appears, efpecially if 
the weather be either too hot or too 
cold 5 particularly as to the laft, if the 
ridge decays in its heat, the intenfenefs 
of the fun, or at leaft thofe fudden and 
violent fits of it that often happens in 
the fpring, is as deftrudive to the well 
fetting of fruit, as cold is 5 becaufe by 
coming all of a fudden it gives fuch a 
fhock to nature, that fruit of all kinds 
tumbles off more by it than colder wea- 
ther; which fhould dired the careful 
mclonifl to cover his glaifes with wheat- 
ftraw, and give the vines only a glim- 
mering light, on all fuch violent occa- 
fions, till the fruit is ftronger and bet- 
ter fct 5 and in cafe of cold weather, 
and the ridge begins to abate of its heat, 
the fides of the beds fhould be all new- 
lin'd, and that very foon, before the 
plants complain, or elfc you may lofe 
this firft crop, to your great fhame and 
difcontent 5 having the flicks always 
fi:uck ready in the ridge, to be pulled 
out on every occafion, as faithful mo- 
nitors of the good or ill temper the ridge 
is in. 

Then as to covering, it fhould be (as 
Monfieur T)e la ^mtime direds) from 

eleven 



The TraStical Kitchen Gardiner. 

eleven till two, or rather, in excefllve 
weather, till three a clock j which ex- 
cefllve heat is not only too violent for 
the young fruit, but alfo exhaufts and 
confumes (as that laborious author tells 
us) all the humidity that is neceffary to 
both root and branches. To go on with 
him : It is alfo requifite to cover the 
melonry, when it rains much, left too 
much moifturc prejudice the fruit 5 all 
which requires a great deal of care, and 
no fmall pains ; tho' the regular proceed- 
ings be, to all true lovers of gardening, 
a real pleafure. 

In the fetting or knitting of mzlons^ Things to k 
the ridge fhould be well lined on the ^"'^^ ^^^^ 
back-fide with good new dung, two or^^/Jf;. 
three foot thick, in order to ftrike frefh 
heat into it, if it be any way decaying, 
which is very often, in referving the 
other fide, and the inter- fpaces between 
ridge and ridge, a little longer; and 
note, that on your firft ridges, you may 
raife the melon plants you fhall want 
for your fecond and third crops, with- 
out the trouble of making new beds 
for that purpofe. And in about a fort- 
night or three weeks after the ridges be- 
gin to fruit, fill up all the inter-fpaces 
G 4 between 



s s The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 



between ridge and ridge with new dung 
alfo, and this will can-y them thro' till 
all the fruit that is neceffary for a good 
crop is eflablifh'd. 

aterins; melons when the fruit is 
fneiom at (^^^{^o is auothcr thin^ that fhould be 

the Jetting . p . n • 

Hefruii. doiic witu great care and cu'cumfpeaion, 
fuicc too much water will make it turn 
yellow, and drop 5 as will indeed too 
little, which will alfo make them flirivel, 
and give notice of their want of re- 
frefhment ; but of the two, it is better 
to let them have too little water, than 
too much, and what they have fhould 
be poui'd on to the extremities of their 
roots, rather than dafh all the vines over 
with w^ater, becaufe the wet will be very 
injurious to the young fruit, as yet very 
tender and fpongy 5 and will alfo do 
fome harm to the leaves and vines. In- 
ftead of watering them often in the 
ufual manner, take the brims of an old 
hat, and lifting up the vines gently, 
once in two or three days, rake off the 
dry harfh mold, and put that which is 
frefh and moift in its room, for this 
will impart nourifhment to the fibres 
in a much more gentle and falutary man- 
ner than precipitate waterings, and hafty 

daflimgs 5 



The TraUlcd Kitchen Gardiner. 89 

dafhings ; and when you do water them, 
which fhould be once a week at moft, 
when they are knitting, and not above 
twice when near grown, you are to hold 
up the vines gently with your old hat- 
brims, and pour it round at the extre- 
mity of the fibres, in fuch a manner 
that the water touch not the leaves nor 
fruit 5 and let the water be fuch as is 
taken from the bottom of fome horfc- 
dung heap, or fuch as has been melio- 
rated by fheep or deer's dung, and fet a 
warming in the fun for a day or two. 

The time of day for watering, is ^z-ofthtimB 
cording to the feafon of the year, and/'"' 
ftate in which your fruit is; when it is^"^° 
young, and newly knitting, the beft time 
is in the morning, about eight or nine 
a- clock, as foon as the fun has got 
ftrength to dry up all fupcrfluous moif- 
ture 5 but when the fruit grows larger, 
and the days are longer and hotter, then 
the evening is the beft time : At all 
which times, care fhould be taken next 
not to wet the vines, for that will fcald 
them ; nor fhould the roots or ftems 
touch the hot dung. The latter part of 
thefe diredions arc agreeable to my oft- 
quoted author; Never fuffer (fays he) 
2 the 



90 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

the root or ftalk of your melon plants 
to touch the dung ; nor fhould you wa- 
ter them immoderately, but when the 
earth is very dry, and the feafon excef- 
fively hot, refrefli and give the roots 
drink, without deferring till the fhoots 
complain, when it may come too late. 
I water them (adds he) in thofe parching 
feafons two or three times a week, and 
in the evening, when the fun is fetting ; 
covering them alfo with mattreffes in 
the middle-part of the day. 
O'.wojJii- It mud: be confefs'd that over-water- 
imng the ^^^^^ ^.j^^ crrcatcft faults our 

cmfe of the ^ , ^ r j • 

badmjsof hngltjh garamcrs are guilty or, durmg 
ihemelms. the v/liolc coiirfc of thcir care, from 
the time that plants are ridged out, till 
the fruit is cut, tho' there is nothing 
fo cfFvCLually fpoils both vines and fruit 
as this does (given in any degree too 
much) and caufes the fruit to have all 
that waterinefs and infipidity that its 
maftcrs and owners complain of. To 
avoid therefore, as much as poffible, this 
fo much and fo juftly complain'd of 
error, I re-prcfcribe (what I lately hint- 
ed at) viz. my firft method of raking 
away all the dry moid that lies upon 
the ridge, under the vineS;, by holding 

them 



The T radical Kitchen Gardiner, 9 1 

them up with a large brim'd hat, be- 
caufe the vines are not fuppos'd to fpread 
all over the bed, and putting that which 
is frefh and moift in its room, with 
earth oft watered with the melon water 
before fpoken of, and this will impart 
great moifture and refrefhment to the 
roots, by being done once a week. 

Other waterings fliould be at a dif- of the ge 
tance from the root, in the alleys that "'^''^ 
are between each ridge, which will dif- temg of 
fufe its moifture to the young tendrils 
and roots of the melon 5 and other 
waterings, by holding up the vines, as 
before direded 5 but the thorough wa- 
tering with the rofe all over the hole 
with fair water, fhould not be done 
above once in a week or ten days, bc- 
caufe the fruit of the melon being fpongy, 
the water finks into its tender coat and 
pulpy integument ; which is one of the 
caufes of the misfortune I have been 
complaining of, I mean bad watery me- 
lons. 

Another reafon of melons having a 
bad taftc (next to a bad feafon) is the 
taking away the glaffes and frames, and 
expofing them to the open air and wea- 
ther of all kinds too foon s which tho' 

in 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 

in warmer countries, as in France-, Spain^ 
^c, is proper enough, yet with us in 
England, where even our fummer nights 
and cold dews are like fo many win- 
ter ones beyond fea, thofe coverings 
ought to be kept on to preferve your fruit 
dry, and free from all noxious dews and 
other moifture, and which often happens; 
during this fecurity, and premeditated 
carelefsnefs, fuch ftorms of hail, rain 
and thunder have fallen, as have at once 
marr d all the labour and hopes of the 
preceding fpring and fummer 5 at- leaft, 
it fills the melons full of water, and 
makes them eat flattifh and infipid. 
Where note, that towards the latter 
end of the feafon, you are not to wa- 
ter at all, except there be the greateft 
occafion imaginable j and the curious 
mclonifts fhouid not be fond of mak- 
ing his fruit (as gardiners too oft do, 
and find themfelves in it) to fwell too 
much in bignefs, as they endeavour to 
make them have a good tafte and fla- 
vour i on which account it is that all 
melons fhouid be laid on a tile, and 
oft=times turn*d, that it may ripen the 
better, which when it has, by the addi- 
tion of a little hand-glafs in the bargain, 

it 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

it has all the advantages that either art 
or nature is capable of furr.ifhing him 
with. 

S E C T. II. CHAP. XIL 
Of the properties of good melons , dec, 

HAving traced the method and man- 
ner of railing melons from their 
infancy to perfedion, nothing now re- 
mains, but to fet down fomething con* 
cerning the properties of good melons, 
their method of ripening, and gathering 
them, ^c. 

Mr. ^e la ^intinje, concerning me- 
Ions, tells us, that great and pumpkin- 
like melons are very feldom tolerably 
good, as arriving to their bulk either 
from the nature of their feed, or from 
fuperfluous waterings: Wherefore (tho^ 
as he has faid, they cannot fupport the 
too exceffive heats without it) the lefs 
water you give to plants (provided you 
find them not to want it ) the better, 
and that rather a little at a time than, 
much ; once a week, for the moft part^ 
is fufficient^ and I beg leave to add^ 
that towards their time of ripening, 

none 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

none at all, for a week or ten days, 
except it be of the frefh mold I have 
heretofore recommended. 

And as to this (fays he) you muft de- 
termine and regulate your refrefhments 
with great circumfpedioU;, and judge by 
the nourifhment which you conceive 
neceifary to produce and maintain the 
foot, with its branches and leaves grow- 
ing from it, without which no kind 
nor genuine fruit is to be expeded. 

When you gather a ripe melon, you 
will have notice by its turning a little 
yellow 5 for from that time (as the wea- 
ther proves) it does ordinarily ripen, 
and begin to cafl: a grateful fcent, the 
yellownefs appearing in fome part of it 
or other, and not feldom with fome 
rift or little chafings about the ftalk, &c. 
arc mofl: infallible indications of its be- 
ing rather too long, than too haftily ga- 
thered : The gardiner therefore muft not 
fail to vifit the melonry, at leaft three 
times a day, morning, noon, and even- 
ing, for this critical time of ripening. 
He will fometimes find melons ripen 
too faft, but they (as all very early me- 
lons) are very feldom good, as pro- 
ceeding rather from a fickly or vicious 
2, root^ 



The TraBkal Kitchen Gardiner, 

root, than from the nature of the plant, 
or the bcft fpccies of melons. 

You may judge of the goodnefs of a 
melon by its ponderof-ty or weight i and 
provided it ripens well whiift the leaves 
and ftalk are pert and green, it is a cer- 
tain indication of its goodnefs. And 
this is what all good gardiners generally 
aim and make a bravado at; but on 
the contrary, when the ftalk is withered, 
the fruit is then infipid, let the colour 
of it be never fo yellow and fine. 

After twenty four hours keeping, or 
the next day after it has been gather d 
(for fo long, contrary to vulgar opinion, 
it Ihould be preferved in fome fweet dry 
place, and not eaten immediately," as 
foon as it comes from the garden) a per- 
fed tranfcendent melon will be full, 
juicy, and without vacuity^ which you 
will eafily difcern by rapping a little 
with your knuckles on the outfide of 
the fruit ; the meat fnould be alfo dry, 
or but a little rorid meazing out of the 
pulp, (all which is done by keeping the 
melon dry and from watering) but by 
no means waterifh and flafhy. To this 
add a vermilion colour, a grateful fla- 
vour; and a high and racy tafte. And 

thus 



T^he TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 



thus much concerning melons, the me- 
thod of raifing, perfedion, i^'C. 

SECT. 11. CHAP. XIIL 
Of the cucumbers, 

'T^HE cucumber is the next to be 



^ treated of, being the firft of the 
three kinds^ Bauhinus has reduced to this 
head 5 tho' indeed much inferior to the 
foregoing, both in beauty and good- 
> nefs. 

This kind of fruit was in fo much e- 
ileem in Tlinfs time, that he beftow'd 
X whole chapter in his Natural Hijlory^ 
on this and fome other kinds he joins 
to it, and tells us, in the account he 
gives, of the great virtues of the feeds 
being fteep*d in wine, for thofe that are 
afflicted with coughs, and for nephritic 
and dyfenterial difeafes in women. The 
encomiums that Tliny has given, and the 
care that has been taken of them, caused 
many to behave that what the antients 
caird cucumbers, was in reality our me- 
lons, as has been already noted. 

* Vid. Bmhinus in FiMce, lilr, 10. cap. 4. ut antea- 




The 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 97 

The cucumber fimply fo calFd, is from of the ^p- 
the * curvature or figure of it, of which ^^^^^^'7 f 
there were heretofore but three kinds cnm6eru 
that were cultivated in the garden 5 that 
is, the cucumis longior viridis , long 
green cucumbers 1 the cucumis longior 
luteusy or long yellow cucumbers 5 cu- 
cumis frudtu minore. But later years has 
produced more varieties, vi^. the little 
fhort early cucumbers, the prickly cu- 
cumber white and green, the long fmooth 
green, large fmooth white, and long 
fmooth yellow cucumbers; all of them 
of ufe either to eat raw or pickled, for 
gerkins or mango. 

The feed is a little ovular, pointed 0/ rj?-' 
at both ends, but fmaller at one ^i^^l ^^^^^^^^^ 
than the other, of a whitifli colour (in ^^^^ If' 
oppofition to that of melons, which i^fo-i^ing.^c^ 
yellow) and is gathered out of the bel- 
lies of thofe cucumbers that are yellow, 
the largeft of which are the m.ofl: pro- 
per for that purpofe. They are planted 
and propagated after the fame manner 
that melons arc, but require not fo ftrong 
an earth as melons do, and requite 

* Cucumis & cucumer (quafi) curvimer a curvitate 
ejusj &c. CataL Hort. Botan. Oxon. p. 50. 

H more 



98 The Tra£ikal Kitchen Gardiner, 



more water : They are more hardy than 
melons, if planted late, and require much 
lefs care , it being in the power of any 
body to raife cucumbers, that can't raife 
melons ; but if early, they are more 
tender, and more difficult to raife, and 
more fubjed to difappointments. 
The earth The compoft I would advifc, is one 
pnpsr for j^^^^ melou earth, a quarter of 

a load of cow-dung well mouldred, half 
a load of burn-bak'd land, and half a 
load of loam, with half a load of wood 
pile mold i thefe mix'd well together, 
and laid in a heap, turn d once a month 
all the fummer, and then kept dry in 
a hovel or open houfe all the winter, 
will make an excellent compoft for cu- 
cumbers in the fpring j which when 
rais'd early, requires as dry a foil as me- 
lons, or any of the choiceft fruits, whe- 
ther exotick or domeftick we have grow- 
ing. 

0/ v&nter The water ought to be clear, fweet, 
w -waur- ^yhoiefoi^^e water, and not that taken 
out of horfeponds, or mingled with 
dungs, as was prefer ibed in the cafe of 
melons , but fliould however be warm- 
ed in the fun, when the plants are young; 
and tho* it has been before faid, that 

cucumbers 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

cucumbers require more water than me- 
lons, as re|Ceiving indeed, on account 
of its natural tafte, lefs damage from 
watering than melons do, and alfo that 
water makes them more fruitful 5 yet if 
they have but a little water, they will 
be more pleafant and wholefome^ and 
tho* they are to be watered in dry wea- 
ther, yet in cold wet weather they 
fliould be defended againft rain, by fome 
coverings 5 for how eafily foever they 
may (by being ftrew'd with fait, and 
beat between two plates) be cleared of 
all the water and watery tafte, yet as 
cucumbers are (by thofe curiofo's who 
divide herbs into four degrees of hear, 
and four degrees of cold) efteemed cold 
in the fourth degree, the next degree 
whereof would be poifonous, one can't 
be too careful of keeping them from 
over-much moifture, nor indeed fliould 
be eat too early nor too late, tho' the 
former is aim'd at by moft gar diners, 
with an uncommon pride and defire; 
as the latter is by moft country people 
of hot and juvenile conftitutions, eaten 
too avaritioufly, to their great hurt, and 
fometimes utter deftruftion, unlefs well 
mix d with pepper, vinegar, and other 
Hz hot 



I CO the Tf dtltcal Kitchen Gardiner, 

hot ingredients. On which account I 
judge that cucumbers ougiit never to be 
eaten before Ma/y nor after the latter 
end of July^ or fome fmall time in An- 
guft^ except it be very fparingly. 

SECT. 11. CHAP. XIV. 

Of the methods of making the hot- 
bedsy &c. 

THE method of making hot-beds, 
and all the other culture and ma- 
nagement of cucumbers is, as has been 
already hinted, the fame with melons 5 
tho' experience teaches, that whefl the 
plants are yet young and tender, and 
the feafon of the year is very early, 
they require rather more care and at- 
tendance than melons do j tho* as they 
are planted very near to one another, 
they generally participate of the fame 
care and trouble. 

The method of making the feed-bed 
(as before in the cafe of melons) is to 
caft the dung together on a heap to 
fweat for three or four days, mixing it 
with cole-afhcs, or tanner's bark, to 
make the bed heat with lefs rage, and 
I " to 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. loi 

to prcferve the heat the longer; and 
making the bed about three foot wide, 
and four and a half or five foot long, 
according as the lize of the raifing frame 
is j and in the winter time at leaft three 
foot high, though in the fpring it need 
not be fo ftrong. You may fow the 
feed in a day or two after the bed is 
made, tho* fome fow it immediately. 
There are that chufe rather to fow ic 
on a hill in the middle of the frame, 
and covering that earth with hand-glaffes 
made flat, than by earthing the bed all 
over, to trufl: to the violence and un- 
certainty of the bed 5 which fometimes 
(fay they) burns up the plants before you 
can fave them : And this indeed holds 
good as to the fecond bed and ridges, 
but it is a misfortune that rarely hap- 
pens in the feed-bed, the rage or heat 
of the bed being expiring, or expired, 
before the feeds are come up, at leaft 
before they are fit to plant out into the 
fecond or nurfery-bed. 



H 3 SECT. 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 



SECT. IL CHAP. XV. 

Of the feed of cucumbers ^ its age, fro- 
pertiesy 6cc. 

IT muft be obferved (as to the feed) 
that that of cucumbers will not laft 
fo long as melon feed will 5 cucumbers 
of the fecond, at moft of the third 
year, being the propereft for a crop of 
any. And fome there are that efteem 
feed of the firfl: year beyond any of 
them. It has been a queftion in debate 
amongft the curious, whether the ftecp- 
ing of melon and cucumber feed in 
milk, liquid honey, or other fweet wa- 
ters, does really add to the goodnefs of 
their tafte, or no. 

And Scaltgery in his notes on Theo- 
phrafttiSy lib.z. cap. 18. affirms it does. 
Cucumeriim fervid la5ie aut melicrato 
fr£macerariy quo fiant fruBus dulciores. 
But our moderns, amongft which is 
Mr. CollinSy denies it has any fuch ef- 
fcd. But every body agrees, that in cafe 
the owner and planter is behind-hand 
in his work, that it adds to the quick- 
nefs of its growth, for which reafon 



The Tra5iical Kitchen Gardiner. lo^ 

they prefcribe that feed fhould be fteep'd 
in milk, or warm water, for four, fix, 
eight, ten or twelve hours, more or 
lefs, according as its age is : And I may 
add, that in cafe it is a very good kind^ 
and the feed is old, the infufing it in 
fome warm water, wherein is put a lit- 
tle faltpeter, and other frudifying ingre= 
dients, it can't but add fpirit and life 
to that which is otherwife in decay. 

The bed being made as before, earth of the^ 
it, and fow the different kinds of feeds '"'''^^7 

/- « -11 1 cucumber 

feparately, in drills about an inch deep, has, 
as you did the melons, covering it over 
again with your finger, and putting flicks 
or numbers of every diftind kind you 
fow, differently numbred and referr'd 
to in your pocket-book, and the place 
from whence you procured the faid feed y 
chufing for your firft crop only the fhort 
green cucumbers, that knit at the firfl: 
joint ; for on this choice depends all 
the fuccefs that gardiners fo much vaunt 
and brag about early bearing, being, as 
I have elfewhere hinted, nothing but 
an imperfedion in nature, and the pro- 
duce of a Hunted kind of fruit 5 but as 
cuftom has fo far prevail'd upon us, 
and without this a gardiner^ however 
H 4- 



% 04 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

fo ingenious otherwife, muft be ftigma- 
tizd for one unknowing in liis art or 
bufinefs, let us purfue our direftions ac- 
cordingly. 

S E C T. II. CHAP. XVI, 

Of the time of fowing the firft cucum- 
bers, 

IT is v/cll known that the early kind of 
cucumbers will bear in about a month 
or fix weeks, or two months at moft, 
in cafe the water be tolerable, and the 
plants do not meet with any baulk in 
their raifing , you fhould therefore fow 
them as early as you can in January, 
and let your mold be dry, and your 
glalTes and frames fo clofe that no wet 
nor air can get in, your plants at this 
time of tiie year, for want of fun, be- 
ing in very great danger of rotting with 
the wer, or being pinciVd with the cold 5 
and you mxuft be very watchful, and 
make ufe of every glance of the fun you 
can get, to clierifh your plants, laying 
clean wheat-Hraw on your glalles to har- 
den them by degrees 5 and you may put 
a woollen cloth, as Mr. Bradley direfts, 

under 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 105 

under the glaffes, by which means, hav- 
ing two or three of them, and keeping 
them dry one under another, you may 
take off that vapour and dew that ge- 
nerally arifes out of hot-beds, to the 
annoyance (and fometimes deftrudion) 
of your plants, as it burns and fcalds 
the leaves iij fine weather, or, which 
is worfe, rots them in wet and cold. 

There will be little occafion of wa- o/w^/^*"-" 
tering your cucumber plants thus early 
in the year, the natural moifture being 
fufficient to preferve them 5 however, 
when you firft plant them out of the 
feed-bed into the fecond or nurfery-bed, 
you muft do it carefully, with water 
warm'd in a veffcl that is not greafy, 
and with a fpout of a tea or coffee-pot ; 
and in cafe your bed (which fhould have 
at leaft fix inches of mold on it, and 
fliould under that have two inches or 
more of old rotten dung) fliould burn, 
wherever you fee it, thruft the plants 
away with your hand on a heap, for if 
you do nor, then thereby they will eafi- 
ly flick again, and the pouring cold wa- 
ter on that place will mitigate the raging 
heat, and in a day or two after you i;iiay 
thrufl your plants with the fame cou- 
rage 



106 The Tr attic al Kitchen Gardiner, 

rage back again^ having taken out the 
burnt mold and put in frefli, to the 
place where they were before the other 
morning, and as it were tranfplanting, 
being no hurt, but rather effential to 
their well-growing and bearing. And 
here it muft be noted, that after you 
have made this fecond or nurfery bed, 
which we have been fpeaking of, you 
muft line it well with clean wheat-ftraw 
before you put the glaffes on, in order 
to make the heat rife gradually, and in 
all places alike $ for if you don't, it will 
rife in patches, which is too often the 
occafion of the misfortune 1 have been 
cautioning agauift, and fome part of the 
bed will be cold while other parts of it 
burn. 

And thus much muft be faid as to cu- 
cumbers in their raifing or feed-bed, and 
in their tranfplanting to the fecond or 
nurfery- bed 5 the other care being only 
what I have already fet down, and which 
I can't too often repeat, in watching for 
every glance of the fun, the keeping 
your glaffes as dry as poflible, from the 
drops and fteam that arife from the bed, 
and above all, the having fticks ftuck in- 
to the bed ready to be pulled out when 

you 



The Traciical Kitchen Gardiner, 107 

you want to know its temper, the hav- 
ing dung ready to affift, in cafe it heats 
too flow, or an iron bar in cafe it heats 
too fail, you have, I think, all the cau- 
tions and diredions that is neceffary, or 
can be ufeful. I fhall only add one cau- 
tion more, which I had forgot both in 
the diredions concerning melons, as 
well as others I am upon, that you make 
your feed-bed, and indeed all your othei: 
beds and ridges, upon the ground; be- 
caufe there is a wetnefs, moifture and 
danipnefs that is in all grounds, gravels 
themfelves not excepted, that will chill 
and cool your beds. I am fure beds 
can t be fet too high, or too much out 
of the ground, but too little they may ; 
tho' there are many that don't fo much 
mind this as they ought to do. 

In fhort, the keeping the bed from 
wet, and confcquently from being raging 
or chiird, and the knowing and confi- 
dering its temper, and havmg all ne= 
cefTaries either to keep it in cafe of need, 
or to take away from it in cafe it abounds, 
added to an indefatigablenels, watchful- 
nefs, care and diligence, is the very all 
that can recommend a gardiner to this 
employ in particular, and the fervice of 

his 



108 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 



his mafter in general; but where inftead 
thereof, drunkennefs, ignorance and care- 
lefsnefs take place, there little good can 
be expefted > and on the other hand, the 
mafter ought to be very ready to let his 
fcrvant have all that is neceffary towards 
that care, as very good clofe glaffes and 
frames, good large double mats, the 
neweft and befl: dung that comes out of 
the ftables; a hundred load of new dung, 
which when rotted will wafte to about 
thirty, being fufficient for any fmall me- 
lonry. But now to the ridge for cu- 
cumbers, 

SECT. 11. CHAP. XVII. 
Of the ridging of cucumbers , 

\S to the ridging of cucumbers, the 
fame rules are to be obferv'd, 
which has been fet down concerning 
melons, but that they are to be earlier 5 
for if you would obtain very early cu- 
cumbers (as in Marchy which is the time 
that the forwardeft gardiners generally 
produce them) they ought to be ridgd 
out by the ic^'^ or 15^^ of February^ at 
leaft; and by the 10^^ of March ^ or fooner, 
you may exped fruit. And whoever 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 109 

has a mind to try his luck on melons> 
in order to have them early in May^ 
ought to be as early with them as with 
the cucumberS;, in the manner 1 am now 
fpeaking. 

As concerning the diredions that Mr. 
Bradley has given in gardening, about o^/^rx/^/i- 
the faving of melon and cucumber feed ^^l^iomof 
in November y and for keeping of the ^.l. Brad- 
plants in conftant health and vigor till ley. 
the fpring^ I muft own I have not had 
the experience of it, neither have I ever 
met with any that have 5 but it feems 
to me to be much more agreeable to 
reafon, and the experience I have had 
in this curious aiFair, that the plants both 
of melons and cucumbers fhould be more 
contaminated and fpoil'd by keeping on 
hot-beds all the winter, than when they 
are rais'd with difpatch and early dili- 
gence on the hot-bed only in the fpring, 
the keeping of them, as I have hereto- 
fore fet down, in a conftant growth and 
motion, being, by all the experience I 
ever had, the moft effential point in 
this affair, all thefe kind of plants, 
and cucumbers in particular, bearing 
fruit, and coming to their perfeclion in 
about eight or ten weeks after their fow- 



1 lo The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 



ing i and that when they are once fl:unt= 
ed, they will not recover any more, but 
grow yellow and rotten : And tho* it 
might be faft that Mr. Fowler might 
have very healthy good plants in the lat- 
ter end of November y that and the fore- 
going month being generally very mild, 
yet what would become of them, or 
how he could maintain them during the 
winter months of T)ec ember and Janu- 
ary, till they could be brought to ridge, 
I muft ow^n I am at a lofs to judge : But 
there is no contending againft real fad, 
if fuch it be 5 and the kindnefs of my very 
ingenious friend to me fhall always ob-, 
lige me to fay nothing but what is a- 
greeable to faft and experience, having 
the greateft regard for his ufeful labours 
in the way of gardening. 
ofthemain Certain it is, after all that has been 
luLfer'"' ^^^^ ^^^^ bringing forwards and forcing 
anii time of of melons and cucumbers, they have by 
riiiging, HO mcaus a good tafte, nor any ways 
capable of appearing in competition with 
others that follow after in other months j 
nor do they pay for the care and ex- 
pence we are at about them, and it is 
better to let it alone till the 10^^ or 12^^ 
of February^ before you fow them, and 
2 ' " " till 



The "Practical Kitchen Gardiner. 1 1 r. 

till about the middle or latter end of 
March, before you plant them out, then 
you may expeft good cucumbers in the 
latter end of April, or beginning of 
May ; and good melons by the begin- 
ning of June, when the weather begins 
to grow hot, and the more eager palates 
and eaters of garden-fluff naturally re- 
quire them s it being, in my opinion, 
much better to have a good cucumber 
or a good melon in May ox: June, than 
to have ten bad ones a month or two 
fooner, and I am fure much more heal- 
thy, the others being very little better 
than poifon. But to conclude this trea- 
tife of melons and cucumbers, which I 
have endeavoured to handle with all the 
diftindion and clearnefs I can : cucum- 
bers do not require the pruning, the' 
they bear more water than melons do s 
nor fhould they be left naked or bare, 
efpecially when young, to the open fun, 
all fruits thriving befl under cover, till 
about a week or ten days before you 
fappofe it fit to cut 5 nor fhould the 
vines be twifled to accelerate their ri- 
pening, nor other ways moved, without 
great care, fince, as Mr. Bradley obferves^ 
the veiTels which convey the juices to 



1 1 2, The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

the fruit, being very tender, and fubjed 
to bruife by the leafl: bending from the 
natural place of their growth 5 which is 
the reafon, as that ingenious gentleman 
obferves, why the fruit which firft fets 
feldom comes to perfedion, by reafon of 
handling of them 5 but in fome remote 
corner, where the plants are leaft re- 
garded, commonly the firft perfeft fruit 
is found. And as to the twifting of 
melons, which many gardiners do in or- 
der to get their fruit ripe, perhaps a 
week or ten days fooner than ordinary 
(as to the goodnefs of fruit it is by no 
means approveable 5) nor do I find by 
any obfervation I have ever made, that 
the leaving on of falfe bloflbms be for 
the advantage or difadvantage of the 
vines, and fetting of the fruit, or whe- 
ther they are the male kind, fo neceffary 
as it is fuppofed for the impregnation 
and forwarding the fruit in the others. 



SECT. 



^he TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. i \ i 



SECT. 11. CHAP. XVIIL 



Of the citrul calabajh, or citrul cucum- 
bers. 




HE calabafh, or citral cucumber, n^mts 



is the next I fhall treat of 5 it is <^^i 
caird citrul, from CitrulhiSy or ratlier, 
CitroleuSy quod citrei malt quoad formam 
& coloremjit amuky fay the botanical 
etymologifts. 

Our herbals have left but one kind, 
that I have feen, which is the citrullus 
five anguria vtdgatiory the common ci- 
trul cucumber j but the T>utch (from 
whom we receive many things of this 
kind, which they have from their colo- 
nies abroad) have fent us over many 
more kinds> which differ in lize and 
fliape, fome being perfectly round, o- 
thers ovular or long 5 fome pear-fafhion'd, 
and others as it were fqueez d flat at the 
head, under the general name of cala- 
bafli 5 of all which we have feveral kinds 
from our own plantations in the TVeJl 
Indies, which it would be needlefs for 
me to enlarge upon. 



I 



They 



TT4 TPje Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

of the ml They are to be fown in hot-beds a- 
bout the middle of Marchy and at the 
beginning or middle of April take them 
up, with as much earth as you can a- 
bout their roots, and tranfplant them 
into fome old hot-bed or dung-heap, if 
tinder a wall or pale the better, that 
they may climb up thereon, which is 
exceeding advantageous to thefe kinds of 
fruit. Thefe plants require a good deal 
of room, for that they may be planted 
at leafl: fix or eight foot afunder, for the 
more room they have to run, the bet- 
ter it is for them 5 and fhould have a- 
bout tv/o foot wide, and one foot deep 
in the holes of good moid ; and by the 
beginning of June tliey will be five or 
fix foot long. If they are to lie flat, 
fome fliovels full of mold fhould be 
laid on the vines, about three or four 
foot off the root, which will not only 
make them ftrike again, but will keep 
them from being fhak'd to and fro, and 
bruifed by the winds i but if they are 
to grow up againft pales, or a frame of 
wood, then you are only to throw more 
mold on the roots, and nail the vines 
up to the pale or wall. They are not 
fit to gather till they are perfedly yel- 

lOW;, 



1 



^he Tragical Kitchen Gardner. l is 

low, when their pulp is very wholfome 0/ ?/&w> 
and good, efpecially when baked with'^^^^'^^-^'' 
onions, &c, in them, which is beft to- 
wards the fpring of the year, tho' they 
are good any time of the winter. 



S E C T. 11. CHAP. XIX: 
Of the pumpioYiy or pumpkins. 

TH E pumpion, or pumpkin, is al- of tU 
fo a larger kind of the citrul 5 ^ 
but as it is of various colours, does not 
keep fo clofe to that kind. It has al- 
ways bore the name of pepo, amongft 
the antients, from feveral Greek roots 
which imply its aptitude to grow large, 
and fmell well. 

Our Englijh Herbals take notice but of tU^ 
of two kinds, which are the pepo maxi- 
mus oblonguSy or the great long pumpi- 
on, and the pepo maximus rotundus^ or 
the great round pumpion or pumpkin. 

Its culture is the fame with that of its, mlfuM 
the citrul, to which, as is before faid, 
it is ally'd 5 they may be planted on any 
dung-hill, and have no previous care in 
the hot-bed, and will alfo rtfti up againft a 
hedge or pale, to a very good purpofe j; 

~ I z but 



1 1 6 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner] 



but if they are fuffered to lie along, lay 
fome fhovels of mold at feveral joints, 
in order to keep them on the ground, 
from being blown about by the wind. 
Any fort of fituation agrees with them 
well enough in the open air, but thofe 
that are well expos'd ripen the fooneft. 
This, as well as the laft, require a good 
deal of water, and the richeft foil you 
can give them. 

SECT. 11. CHAP. XX. J 
Of the gourd. 



H E cucurbit, or gourd, is the lafl 



\ of the cucumber clafs ; unto 
which not only this, but all the other 
before-mentioned are reduced. Nor is it 
certain to wiiich of the three the cala- 
bafh, that is now fo much in ufe, is 
placed 5 all thefe laft are however re- 
duced into one by our * botanifts, tho' 
7 liny divides them into two chapters. 

"* Cucumis appellatio communis fub qua cucumis fim- 
pliciter diftus pepo, melo, cucurbitas & citrullus, de quo 
fuo loco. Catal. Hort. Botan. Oxon. p. 50. 

t De anguino cucumere & de pcpone, cap. 2. De cu- 
curbite fylveftri. Sec Plin, Nat. HiJI. cap. 3. /ib, 20. 




3 



The 



The 'Fra5iical Kitchen Gardiner . 



The fruits of thefe are of very various 
kinds, even tho* they fpring from the 
fame feed, nor does nature difplay it 
felf in any plant more than in the varie- 
ty of the growth of its vines and ten= 
drils, as Bauhinus and others, from ex- 
perience teflify» The kinds that our 
herbalifts fpeak of, are the cucurbita 
anguina, or longer, being the long or 
fnake s gourd j cucurbita lagenaria mi- 
nor:, or the fmall bottle gourd j cucurbita 
fylveftris fungi - for mis ^ or the mufh- 
room gourd j cucurbita clypei-formisy or 
fymnel gourd j and the cucurbita 'verru- 
cofa, or knotty gourd, with many o- 
thers that I need not name, that are 
cultivated in thefe and other parts, with 
great variety and care. 

This plant, which grows the largeft 
and quickeft, and moft extenfive of any, 
is raifed of feed, as all the reft of this 
tribe are, but would, as being a ftranger 
with us, require^ a hot-bed in the fpring^ 
to bring it forwa^^d. The feeds of them 
all are good for th^ inteftines, as is alfo 
the pulp, and the feed is faid by the 
antients to be a fpecifick againft perio- 
dical or intermitting fevers. Which is all 
J lhall add astp cucumbers and their kinds. 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardinet. 



SECT. III. CHAP. XXI. 

Of herbacious and fibrous -rootled kitchen 
plants. 

IT will not, I prefume, be to my pur- 
pofe to wafte much time on the ety- 
mology from which this fcdion has its 
denomination 5 nor on tiie opinions of 
thofe who feem to criticife fo nicely 
on the word, and diftinguifh the olla 
herbs (which are never eaten raw) from 
the acetaria, which are never boil'd > 
inferring from thence, that the original 
of the fir ft is okiSy from olluy a pot ; or 
whether it be deduced from 'oAc$-, com- 
prehending the univerfal genus of the 
vegetable kingdom i or that it has its 
derivation ab olendo, or rather, ab alendoy 
the one fignifying the nature of its growth, 
and the other its general ufes and proper- 
ties, as having been the original and ge- 
nuine food of mankind from the crea- 
tion 5 fince this would lead me too far 
from the praftice I here propofe to lay 
before my readers ; for which reafon I 
lhall leave it to the cumini fe^fores and 
iiTipertinently curiouS;, and proceed to 

what 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. /t 19 

what is of more general ufe, the diflinc- 
tion of their fpecies arid properties, me- 
thod of raifing, governing, and the like; 
beginning firft with tiiofe that meet with 
the 2:reatefl: efteem at the tables of the 
moft curious. 

SECT. III. CHAP. XXII. 

Of the colly flower y cabbage ^ borecole^ 
boccoH:, &c. 

BRaJ/ica, the cabbage, a difh (as it is 
faid) fo entirely beloved by Tom- 
pey, and fo highly celebrated by Cato 
and TythagoraSy but rnore efpecially by 
^iofcorides and Chryflppus the phyficians, 
that the latter is reported by Tliny to 
have privately wrote a volume in its 
praifes, and on account of the benefits 
it afforded to human bodies 5 the fame 
author telling us, and in the fame place, 
that the antient Greeks divided the Braf- 
fica into three diftind fpecies j 'viz, the 
firft, crifpa, with curl'd or fhort leaves, 
and but few ftalks 5 the fecond, leay the 
leaves growing on long ftalks, for which 
it was call'd cauleda, perhaps our cole- 
WOi;ts 5 and the other, crambe^, with fmal- 
I 4. kr 



120 The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

ler leaves, but more indented than any 
of the former ; which undoubtedly be- 
longs to the borecole, broccoli, or fea- 
kele. 

Thofe that arc skilled in botany 
tell us, the BraJJica has its appellation 
from feveral words in the antient lan- 
guages, which fignify its efficacy, or vir- 
tue againft the difeafes of the ftomach. 
And our Englip Herbals take notice of 
fix kinds that were heretofore cultivated 
in gardens, and two that are wild, and 
growing on the fea-fhorcj viz. the Br af- 
fica fativa vulgar is ^ or common cole- 
wort 5 the BraJJica capital a alba, or white 
loaf cabbage; BraJJica capitata rubra, or 
red cabbage ; the BraJJica Jlorida, or col- 
ly flower s and the BraJJica S ah audi crifpa, 
or the Savoy cabbage 5 all of thefe to be 
found defcribed by Gerrard, /. 312, to 
315. and by Tarkinfon, p. 503, to 505. 
To which they add, as before faid, the 
BraJJica felinoides feu laciniata, parfley 
colewort, the BraJJica marina Anglica^ 
the fea colewort, and BraJJica fylvejirisy 
the wild colewort. But late experience 
has produc d other kinds, which are, the 
common cabbage or colewort, the fu- 
gar-loaf cabbage, on account of its fhape. 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. i z i 

the BaUerfea and Ruffia cabbage, both 
fmall and early, and the ^uUh, being 
the flatteft and the largeft of all, and a 
very hard and flat cabbage it is, fit on- 
ly for the lafl: table in large families. 
To thefe may be added, the BraJJica flo- 
ridUy or collyflower before-mentioned, 
the Savoy, the borecole, being both 
great, and red, and curFd on the edges, 
and, above all, the broccoli from Naples 
or Venice^ from whence we have the 
feed tranfported to us every year 5 per- 
haps the Halmerida of 7 liny y fo much 
magnified, and now in the greateft e- 
fteem and repute of any of the fea-kele^ 
or crambe kind. 

Some phyficians decry the c^hh^^c The proprl 
and colewort, as affording but crafs and 
melancholy juice , loofning if but mo- 
derately boird, if over-much aftringent, 
according no Celfus ^ and therefore fel- 
dom eat raw, but by the T^utchy who 
drink large quantities of geneva and o- 
thcr hot liquors, to palliate its cold qua- 
lity. The beft feed (fays our oft-men- 
tion'd author) comes from T>enmarky 
RuJJtay or from Aleppo y but now we 
have feed enough railed annually of our 
own, except the broccoli, which is beft 

tq 



1^2 The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

to be procured every year from Italy \ 
and the oftner any Qther kinds are chang- 
ed;, the better. 

Tliny (in his Natural Hijlory, lib. 20. 
cap. 9. as aforefaid) gives us a long 
chapter on the virtues of this plant, and 
in general, that they are faid to allay 
fumes, and prevent intoxication, artd our 
learned and laborious Naturalift com- 
mends the juice raw, with a little ho- 
ney. How much in efteem they were 
amongfl: the antients, who call'd them 
divine, and ufed to fwcar per brajjicaniy 
I leave to thofc that are curious in an- 
tient phylology. 
of the feed. The feed of all thefe Brajficas fhoujd 
be faved from the largeft and beft of 
their kinds 5 and not from thofe that 
cafually run to feed before their time. 
The hoUower the cabbages are you fet 
for feed, or chufe to eat, the better; 
and thefe fliould be fet into the ground 
at about three or four foot afundcr, a- 
bout Michaelmas^ and being cover'd o- 
ver, to preferve the heads from the froft, 
you may the next year expeft to have 
very good feed. The borecole comes 
oft from Holland, where they eat it raw, 
with vinegar and oil, and there you may 
- ' have 



The Tra£tical Kitchen Gardiner, iii 

have very good feed. The broccoli 
from Italy will do, the feed being raised 
in Englandy for once or twice, but af- 
terwards it dwindles, as does the RuJJia 
and Savoy cabbage. Collyflower is faved 
well in Englandy from the flowers of the 
fame year you plant them. 

Mod of thefe kinds require a culture of thek 
and management diftind from one ano- '^'^^^^^^ "^"^ 
ther. I fhall begin with the collyflower, ^m?^* ' 
as being the firfl: that comes in during the 
fummer-feafon, and on that account the 
mofl: preferable of any 5 tho' the RuJJia 
and Batterfea cabbages, in my humble 
opinion, claim the precedence, as to 
their intrinfick value and goodnefs. 

The collyflower requires to be fown in ofehec&li^i 
five or fix diff'erent feafons ; thofe that/^^^''» . 
are defign d to be early in the fpring, 
and for that reafon kept under glaffes all 
the winter with great care, fliould be 
fow'd at two or three different times, 
^iz, about midfummer, about the mid- 
dle of Jufyy and the middle of Auguft. 

If the autumnal and winter months 
till Chrijlmas prove mild, we may ex- 
ped fome of them to flower before or 
iabout that time, efpecially if juft as 
fhey are flowering they be put into the 
3 gfeea^ 



124 The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 

green-houfe, as is taught for thofe faved 
in May 5 but if the weather fliould be 
fevere in thofe months, then will they 
be flout, and ftand the teft of it better 
than thofe that are fow'd later i but fup- 
pofing they fhould not anfwer, the lofs 
of the feed and labour is but little in 
comparifon to what may be reafonably 
expefted from them, in cafe they do 
well. 

The fecorj The next fowing of collyflowers, is 
fowtng of about the middle of July-, or beginning 
(0 yfiomn, j^jiguft, and this is indeed (efpecially 
in the country, where things don't come 
fo quick as they do in the warmer foils 
about London) the beft feafon for fowl- 
ing not only the coUyflower, but alfo 
all the Brajfica or cabbage kinds, be- 
caufe they will get fufficient ftrength 
before the winter comes, to ftand its 
feverity 5 however, if it be very mild 
in the tiiree or four firft months, thefe 
will be apt to flower, tho' to very little 
purpofe. 

third The third and laft fowing, before 
^svping. vvinter, is about the middle or latter end 
of Atiguft 5 for thefe plants fo fow'd will 
(if the foil be good, and the following 
months very open and kind) be the beft 

plants 



7he TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. xz j 

plants in the fpring, efpecially about 
London, where the foil is rich and warm ; 
but let the feafon be how it will, one 
of the three fowings I have been men- 
tioning will undoubtedly ftand, and take 
place. And thefe and the former are 
to be planted out on bell-ridges, four or 
five under a bell, to come in early in 
the fpring. 

All thefe fowings are to be on an oldo//^e»j<sr;- 
hot-bed, where being fown, the feed ^f^'^- 
will foon fhew it felf, and may be prick'd 
out, all but the laft, into an open bor- 
der of good ground, to take the chance 
of the winter. 

But it were better for the laft fowing 
of all, that a little dung be thrown to= 
gether, both in fowing and tranfplant- 
ing, for the feafon of the year being at 
that time far fpent, the feed will not 
grow fo well, nor when tranfplanted 
will the plants take root fo well with= 
out it. 

The other times of fowing colly- Ue fiwth 
flower feeds, are early in fome of the/^^j^^ ^/ 
firft or fecond beds you make for your '^^^"'^''^ 
melons or cucumbers, about the begin= 
ning of February, and fo let them after- 
wards be tranfplanted into thofe old 

bedsy 



1 iS The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 



beds, from whence you move thofe 
plants, for a much lelfer degree of heat 
will fervc therh than will ferve the o- 
thers 5 and it muft be noted, that thofe 
young plants are more efteem'd by the 
curious, than thofe that were kept all 
the winter, as making better flowers, 
and being lefs fubjed to run to feed. 
The fifth The fifth fowing of collyflower is 
foroing of about the beginning or middle of Marchy 
toiiypvpers. ^j^^ ^^^^ accouut of any 

yet mentioned, becaufe they are only 
intended for the laft fpring crop, to 
eome in in July and AugUft\ which is 
generally better fupply'd by Ruffia, Bat- 
terfea, and other cabbages 5 but as cooks, 
in the drefling and garniture of their 
difhes, defire to have as many different 
kinds of boifd fallet as they can, for 
variety fake, this fifth fowing fhould not 
be omitted. 

the (ikih xhe fixth and laft fowing is of 
M'^^- thofe that, according to the French me- 
thod fliould come in towards ChriftmaSy 
by taking them juft as they begin to 
flower, and placing them in the green- 
houfe, to finifli the growth of the flow- 
ers, and to have ihem in a rcadinefs for 
the table all the winter months. And 

this 



The Traciical Kitchen Gardiner, 

this conclades all that can be faid as to 
the fowing of the ufeful Braffica fiorida^ 
or collyflower, fuperior to all the other 
kinds, inafmuch as it may be had in 
fome degree of perfedion almoft every 
month in the yeat. 

Some of the firft fown of thefe col- 
lyflowers fhould, as is before fet down^ 
be planted out in September:, or the be- 
ginning of October 5 tho' about London^ 
where the ground is warm, they let it 
alone till the beginning of November^ 
into bell-ridges, four or five under a glafs,, 
and on a bed of dung moderately heat- 
ed, where they ftand all the winter, be- 
ing in all dangerous weather cover d 
with mats, to keep the plants from be- 
ing frozen and fpoil'd 5 where letting 
them remain till towards the latter end 
of February y or beginning of March^ 
the dung whereon they were planted 
will be rotted, fo as that you may ex- 
cavate it all tound the bell-glafs, and 
new dung may be trod in, as is ufual 
in all dccay'd beds. And then it is that 
new heat and life being imparted to 
the roots, and the fun getting ftrength 
likewife, the flowers under the bells 
will grow apace, and come in early and 
in good time. All 



I2S The TrdBical Kitchen Gardiner. 



AH the other kinds, which are plant- 
ed out in nurfery beds, and under glafs 
frames, to preferve them from the in- 
clemency of our climate, are likeWife 
planted out in the latter end of Febru- 
ary^ and beginning of March y fome un- 
der warm walls and reed-hedges, fome 
under box, and fome under bells, as 
you can $ whilft thofe rais'd and pre- 
ferv*d in other open feafons of the year, 
are planted in your artichoke and afpa- 
ragus alleys, and other open places, as 
will be more particularly direded in its 
proper place 5 but the putting of pigeon 
and other dungs at the top of the ground 
will alfo contribute much to their growth, 
how much to their goodnefs I leave to 
the judgment of thofe that plant them, 

SECT. III. CHAP. XXIIL 

Of the Rullia, Batterfea, and other cab- 
bages. 



^Hefe following kinds of cabbages. 



JL which are the earlieft of any of 
the pome or loaf kind, are fow'd at 
two different feafons, ^iz, the latter 
end of July or beginning of Augufty 




for 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner- 129 

for winter plants, to plant out very ear- 
ly in the fpring^ and about the begin- 
ning of January y under bell glafleS;, in 
order to have them cabbage after the 
others are gone off ; or in other words, 
to have them come in juft as the fpring 
plants begin to harder^, and fall off from 
their goodnefs, the effential quality of 
thefe, and wherein their goodnefs chief- 
ly eonfifts, being their tendernefs at firft 
coming 5 for afterwards they harden^ and 
are fit only for the fecond and third tables. 

The befl of the RuJJia kind of fccd^of^kfeeJ. 
is that which is imported dirediy to us, 
from T>enmark or Hamburgh 5 at leaft it 
is from thence we have it frefhcft, and 
moft conveniently, and if it be pro- 
cured every year, it is ftill the better $ 
for that which is raised in England is 
apt to degenerate and lofe its priftine 
virtue. The other kind has been rais'd 
fome years with good fucccfs at Batter- 
feay the T>evizeSy and other places > 
and is with eafe procur'd. from feed- 
mens fhops, though not with fo great 
certainty as when you raife it your felf 5 
or get it from fome gardiner that does 
raife it, and on whom you may de- 
pend, 

I< The 



1 30 TPje Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

The next of the BraJJica kinds that 
come in are the fugar-loaf 2indi'\Dutch, 
and arc as good as any of the other, 
for the ufe of the kitchen, in large fa- 
milies; and are fown at the fame time 
that the other kinds are, and treated in 
the fame manner. And thus have I 
f:riven an account of the time of fow- 
ini^ the chief of t\\z Brafficas, efpecially 
thofe that pome or cabbage. I now 
proceed to thofe other kinds that do not, 
at Icaft not to the fame degree of hard- 
nefs with the other. 

SECT. III. CHAP. XXIV. 
Of the Savoy winter coleworty 6cc. 

0/ th S(t'' 1 ^ H E Savoy follows next, as being 
the moft ufcful, and lafting the 
longeft of any of the BraJJica kinds, 
during the winter feafons. Mr. Brad- 
ley direds the fowing them in March, 
and planting them out in July, for the 
winter ufe, but the pradice of gardiners 
IS not to fow them till about the mid- 
dle of May^ for by fo doing they will 
be early enough, being planted out into 
a nurfery-bed in June^ and into holes in 

more 



The Tra5iical Kitchen Gardinef , i 3 1 



more open ground in the latter end of 
yuljy or the beginning of Auguft 5 for 
as they are feldom cat till towards 
ChriftmaSy when the froft has nip'd them^ 
they grow all the months of Auguft and 
September^ and in fine weather great 
part of October, and are, towards the 
beginning of December^ and not fooner> 
a moft excellent difh. 

The other kinds of cabbages, that are of mnuf 
chiefly defignd for the latter part of the^f/^fj 
winter, or beginning of the fpring, fel- 
dom pome or cabbage to any great de- 
gree, and are therefore with us generally 
caird coleworts, mofl: of which we have 
in the Weftern parts of England in great 
abundance 5 kele, as Mr. Evelyn terms 
it, not being fo well known or raised 
any where as in Hampjhirey and other 
Weftern counties, where bacon is the 
beft, and made in greateft quantities, 
they are of great ufe in the kitchen. 

That which is rais'd for the winter 
and fpring fervice, and comes in juft 
as loaf cabbages decay, is fow'd foon af- 
ter midfummer, in any open ground, 
but is often apt to be eat up in the feed- 
leaf (as other cabbage feeds are) with the 
black fly 5 for which reafon, as foon as 
K z the 



13 2- The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner, 



the feed is fown and rak'd in, you 
fhoLild fow fome flack'd lime;, the vir- 
tue of which will laft till fome rain fuc- 
ceeds, after which the feed will foon 
fprout, and be out of danger. 

They are tranfplanted out of the feed- 
bed into the nurfery-bed, in about fif- 
teen or twenty days after they are fow'd; 
tho' fometimes, if they are fow'd thin, 
they are never put into a nurfery-bed at 
all, but planted out into beds of about 
five or fix foot wide, at about eight or 
ten inches, or a foot afunder, at moft, 
in ground that is very rich, and well 
dunged. I have had excellent good in 
the rubbifli of an old caftle, which has 
afterwards been turn'd into a garden, 
and will ftand the fe verity of the win- 
ter, and be an excellent difli boil'd ; but 
towards the fpring they are apt to grow 
tough and bitter; at which time (efpe- 
cially if the weather be hot and dry) 
they fhould be gatherd early in the 
morning, while the dew is yet upon 
them, which makes them boil green and 
crifp 5 but if the fun fliould get up and 
withet them a little, you are to throw 
them into water, and caft therein two 
pr three haadfuis of fait, which revives 

them 



The Tra£iical Kitchen Gardiner. \ 3 3 

them again. This difli I treat of the 
morC; inafmuch as I claim it for my 
own country difli, which is rais'd no 
where, that I iiave feen, fo well as it is 
with us j but with a good piece of ba- 
con deferves all the encomiums that is 
any where beftow'd upon the BraJJick 
kinds. 

This fort of colewort is alfo rais'd of 
plants fow'd at the fame time you do 
thofe for cabbaging 5 or in" other words, 
you may plant your cabbages as thick 
again as they ought to be, and draw up 
every other one while they are green 5 
but thefe are to be recommended for 
the lecond and third tables, much rather 
than for the firft , they being at that time 
of the year much more apt to be bitter 
and tough, than in the winter 5 and are 
indeed better fupply'd by the white-beet 
and fpinnage, which in my opinion are 
a much better fallet boiFd, and lefs fub- 
)ed to windy and cholicky griping qua- 
lities, than coleworts are. 

I need fay little of the fprouts that 
come from old cabbage- ft alks, they be- 
ting well known to produce very tender 
and very excellent kele in fpring, be- 
yond any that are fow'd. 

K 3 S E C 



1 14 Ihe Tra£iical Kitchen Gardiner. 



SECT. III. CHAP. XXV, 
Of the borecole, broccoli Sy &c. 

THis laft kind of cabbage I fliall treat 
of, is the borecole and broccoli, 
before- mentioned ; the firft of which feed 
we raife very eafily in Knglandy or pro- 
cure from Hollands and the other, that 
has been, till within thefe few years, a 
Granger in England, we have the feed 
every year from Venice or Naples j and 
in confideration of its groffnefs and 
crifpy quality, is calFd the Italian afpa- 
ragus. 

The borecole is a hardy coarfe plant, 
and has been cultivated long with us ; 
the feed is fown in March, April or 
May, and is ufed all the year as a gar- 
niture to difhes where greens of the 
fame kind are 5 the French and T>titcb 
cooks boil it fometimes as they do o- 
ther coleworts, and often eat it raw with 
oil and vinegar, and make much ado 
about it as an extraordinary difh 5 but 
our EngUfio cooks have not that efteem 
for it as the others have, 
I 

As 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 1 3 5 

As for the broccoli, there are three 
kinds of it, one of which yields fproius 
button'd at their points, or headed like 
fmall collyflowersj another fort with 
curl'd leaves, which produce fprouts 
t)utton*d on the points like afparagusj 
and a third with curl'd leaves of a pale 
green colour, which yield fprouts like 
the red kind j the two laft are to be had 
at feveral places about London 5 but the 
firft is very rare to be had, but from fome 
few gentlemen that have them yearly 
from Italy^ but now they are to be had 
of feveral feedfmen about London^ par- 
ticularly from that eminent, laborious, 
and moft knowing feedfman and gardi- 
ner, Mr. Carpenter of Brompton-7ark^ 
from whom feveral gentlemen have, 
this laft and fome other years, procured 
them. 

The feeds may be fown for five or fixo/'/f.-//;; 
of the fummer months runnins;, that '^^J 

, . r 1 of fomng. 

they may come m one after another, 
and they require much the fame culture 
as collyflowers doj for which reafon I 
refer my reader to the diredions I have 
laid down as to collyflowers, for the pro- 
per culture of thefe plants. 



Certain 



13 5 The 7ra5iical Kitchen Gardiner] 

Of cabbci' Certain it is, that cabbage, colly- 
ges, colly- flower and coleworts require as rich 
-aborts, &c. loil, and as good culture, as any plant 
ikeir i-i-i^t kitchen garden produces, ex- 
^'^^""^^'^'"^^'haufting a great quantity of juice and 
ftrength from the foil. 

Some there are (and I can't but re- 
commend it as very proper, efpecially 
for fuch collyflowers and cabbages as 
you would have grow large) that lay a 
hatful or two of pigeons or other dung 
to the roots, having made a difh or pan 
about them to hold that and the water 
that is on this occafion to be pour d up- 
on them 5 and as foon as ever there is 
any appearance of the button or flower 
of the coUyflower, let them have a 
pitcher full of water at Icafl, every day 5 
and if the ground under be not very 
rich and well dungd, let there be a 
quarter of a wheel-barrow full of rot- 
ten dung to every plant 5 becaufe there 
is no plant that agrees fo well with 
dung as they do, nor on which thofe 
rich compofts have a lefs pernicious ef- 
fed, as not being at all vitiated with its 
flrength, nor participating any of its of- 
feniive tafte. The putting on new-mow'd 
grafs^ or long dung, is alfo proper. 

i In 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner] 1 37 

In like manner, where it can be pro- 
cured, the putting of fea-fand, oyfter 
and other fea-fliells beat and ftamp'd to 
powder, the refufe of fea-weeds, or a- 
ny other marine herbs or roots, abound- 
ing, as they are, with faline and nitrous 
particles, what proof is there that may 
not be expeded from the broccoli, bore- 
coicy and others of the fea-kele kind, 
when thus planted, and when well wa* 
tered with water where faltpeter and o- 
ther nitrous things have been infufed ? 

Nor need I but juil: remind my reader 
of the breaking the largeft leaves to co- 
ver the flower, and preferve it from the 
rains and wet weather, which is apt to 
fpoil them 5 nor as to the preferving 
them in the winter, by caufing a cover 
of reed, made in the nature of a bee- 
hive, or (which indeed is fomething more 
charge) a bee- hive it felf, which will pre- 
ferve both collyflowers and cabbage much 
the longer. 

The taking them up^ juft as they be- 
gin to button, and planting them, earth 
and all, in a bed in an old warm green- 
houfe, where the fun may come to them 
to make them grow, is a French, but 
yet a very good method : And the fame 

may 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 



may be done by cabbages, juft as they 
are poming or cabbaging. 

The hanging collyflowcrs with their 
heads downwards, in a cellar or green- 
hoiife, is likewife a method pradis'd by 
feveral ingenious gentlemen. 



SECT. III. CHAT. XXVL 
Of the beet. 



HE beet herb, very eaiy to be 



1 rais*d, well deferves the care and 
cultivation of the laborious gardiner, be- 
ing, in my opinion, one oi the ufeful- 
Icll and bcft fallets boil'd that we have 
in the fpring, as not partaking of that 
toughneis or bittcrnefs that cabbage, cole- 
vv^ort, and other boil'd fallets at that 
time of the year do. 

Thofe that arc skiird in botanical ety- 
mology, tell us, that the beet has its 
name from the Greek letter /3 in the al- 
phabet, or rather from fome words out 
of that language, v/hich lignifies its ufe 
and promptitude to be propagated > 
Tltny (in his XIX^^ book, caf, 8.) takes 




notice 



The VraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 1 3 9 

notice of two kinds diftinguifhable by 
the difference of their colours, the red 
and white. And our herbarifts, Gerard 
and Tarkinfon, produce three kinds that 
grow in the garden, and one on the fea- 
fhores, which Mr. Evelyn, in his Ace- 
taridy fays is the beft of all the kinds. 
All which are to be found defcribed, 
by Gerard, 318, 319. and by Tarkin- 
fon, p. 489. and the fea-beet, f.sso. 
under the titles of l?eta alba, of which 
there is a large and fniall kind 5 and 
beta rubra vulgare, or common red beet. 
To which is added, and now continues, 
the beta rubra Romana, or red Roman 
beets and Bauhinus, m Tin. p.iiS. 
and after him TarkinfoUy 550. the 
beta marina, or beta fjL maritima, fo 
much commended by Mr. Evelyn, as 
before- mentioned. 

And there is of the whitifh kind, that 
have a large rib to the leaf, which when 
boird is yellow, and cats like marrow, 
and for that reafon by fome moderns 
caird beta caufta aurea 5 by the French y 
who hold it in great efteem., caird the 
chard. 



The 



J40 The ^raElical Kitchen Gardiner. 

Its proper- The roots of the red beet cut into 
thin flices and boil'd, as Mr. Evelyn has 
it, are, when cold, a grateful winter 
fallet 5 it is of quality cold and moift, 
and naturally fomewhat laxative 5 and, 
however Martial"^ ^ who knew its virtues, 
calls it a difh for fools, and the food 
. of flaves 5 it was, as ^liny tells us, lib, 
19. cap. 8. cfteem'd by the antients the 
1110ft innocent of all boil'd fallets 5 and 
was ufed, as the aforefaid Epigrammift 
tells us, to be eaten with wine and pep- 
per. There were fome, the leaves of 
which, as our oft-quoted naturalift de- 
fcribes, were two foot broad, accounted 
of excellent ufe amongft the antients, 
and eaten by them on a religious ac- 
count, as difpofing of them to be more 
pious and devout. 

It is, of all others, the eafieft plant to 

9ffo-x'mg. f^^ed and fpring up amongft us, though 
heretofore brought from a very diftant 
region 5 they need not be fown on hot- 
beds, as fome others have intimated, 
Ibut will do very well in the open ground, 

* Ut fapiunt fatui, fabrorum prandrea betse 
O quam fepe petet vina, piperque cocus. 

Martial^ Epigram. 



fown 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner] 1 4 1 

fown in March y as the other common 
crops of carrots, parfnips, ^c. are; but 
if they come up thick they muft be 
thinn'd, or elfe they won't fpread and 
grow well. Thofe that are ufually chofe 
for chards are of the white kind, but 
the yelloweft ribs you can pitch upon. 

Thofe you are to tranfplant out fingly 
at about a foot afunder, and watering 
them well all the fummer, in the be- 
ginning of winter you are to cover them 
with long dung, as you do artichokes; 
and in j^pril you may uncover and drefs 
the earth about them : Mr. T>e la ^iin- 
tinye fays, when they are tranfplanted a 
full foot one from another they pro- 
duce great tops, in the middle of which 
rife a large, white, and thick downy 
cotton-like main fhoot ^ and that downy 
cotton-like Ihoot is the true chard ufed 
in pottages and intermeifes amongft the 
French : He tells us alfo, they are well 
placed when two ranks of them are fet 
between two ranks of artichokes, where 
by due attendance in covering, unco- 
vering, ^c. they produce thofe fine 
chards that are ufed in Rogation feafon, 
and in the months of May and Jtmch 
all which I mention the more particu- 
larly, 



142 The ^raBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

larly, in that I find both our Englijh 
cooks and gardiners too, negled and 
fet little value upon them. 

It is better known and pradifed a- 
mongft them, that the root of the red 
beet fliced crofways makes a handfome 
ornament in raw fallets, and are ufed 
much by French and Italian cooks and 
gardiners ; the natives of which coun- 
tries, as well as the T^utch^ eat them as 
they do nioft other roots, raw, with oil, 
vinegar and pepper ; however difagree- 
able they are to Englijh palates. But of 
this more when we come to treat of 
cfculents. 

SECT. III. CHAP. XXVIL 
Of Spinach y or Spinage. 

SPinage is another excellent boiFd fal- 
let, that has for fome time fufnifh'd 
the tables of the curious. 

It is fo caird, fay the * botanifts, from 
the hardnefs and pricklinefs of its feeds. 
Our Herbals mention two kinds, *viz, 

* Spinachia iic dicla ob femina dura Sc fpinofa. C^f- 
Hon. Botan. Ox on. p. 173. 

fpinachia 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

fpinachia ^ufg. or comniet fpinach, and 
Jpinachia rotunda, or fpinach with round 
feeds. Nor do our feed- catalogues pro- 
duce any new kinds but the round and 
prickley, which are the fame that the 
Herbals have left both the icons and de- 
fcription of. 

Upon a careful infpeftion into fome 
books of antiquity, I can't find that this 
ufeful fallet was known to the antients, 
at leaft by- the name we have it ; for, 
as Mr. Evelyn tells us, it was not of old 
ufed in fallets, and the oftner kept out 
the better (fpeaking of the kind 5 ) but 
being boil'd to a pulp, and without any 
other water than its own moifture, is a 
moft excellent condiment, with butter, 
vinegar and lemon, for almofl: all forts 
of boird flefh, and may accompany a 
fick man's diet. Tis laxative, and e- 
moUient, and therefore profitable, fays 
our oft- quoted author of the age, and 
(tho' by original a Spaniard^ may be had 
almoft at all feafons, and in all places. 

Spinage is one of thofc kitchen plants 
that requires the beft ground, or at leaft 
that which is moft amended by dung. 

It is multiplied only by feed, which, 
(as has been before obferv'dj is cither 

very 



144 ^he Traciical Kitchen Gardiner. 

very fmooth and round, or very much: 
fet at the edge with prickles, both of 
them equally good. They are fow'd ei- 
ther in the open ground, and fo raked 
in as you do carrots, ^c, or in drills 
made with the hoe. The firft is the beft 
way, if you cut it when it is old 5 but 
the laft, if you want it to cut very young. 
Mr. La ^dntinye tells us it is to be fow'd 
feveral times in the year^ beginning a- 
bout the middle of Atigtifty and tinifliing 
a month after 5 the firfl: will be fit to cut 
about the middle of OBobeVy thefecond 
in Lent, and the laft in Rogation-wcck 5 
but the pradicc of our Englijh gardi- 
ners is to fow another crop as early in 
the fpring as your foil and fituation will 
permit i viz. the beginning of March 
at leaft, under a warm wall, and in the 
richeft foil you can pollibly fow it , for 
all the fpinach that is fown in the au- 
tumn is apt to run to feed with us in 
the beginning or latter end of Aprily at 
which time the crops laft fown comes 
in to a good purpofe, it being a time of 
year when all other herbs and greens 
are fcarce and not fo well tafted as at 
other times they are. It is well like- 
wife, for the fame reafon^ to fow fpi- 

nage 



The Tragical Kitchen Gar diner. 

hage af three or foul* fevetal times more 
in April and May 5 even once in ten ot 
fifteen days^ it being very apt to run to 
feed. Moft authors that have wrote of 
it fay, it is a plant that never ought to 
be tranfplanted 5 but whoever has time 
and room enough for fo much care will 
find it make them ample amends in. 
the largenefs of its growth, and efpe- 
cially for feed it is to be preferred be- 
fore any other way of faving itj to 
that end, it fhould be tranfplanted ear- 
ly in autumn into rows at about fix or 
eight inches afunder, and well watered^ 
if the weather fliould be dry, and then 
it will feed early, and bear very fine j 
not but that it will do tolerably well 
without tranfplanting, efpecially if it 
be howed and kept clear of weeds, and 
well watered. 

SECT, III. CHAP. XXVIIi: j 
Of the garden mallows, 

TO the cooling and emollient herbs 
before-going, I add the garden 
mallow, equal to thefe for good- 
nefs^ efpecially the kind which TUny 
L and 



The Tra£iical Kitchen Gardiner, 

ajid many of the antients held in great 
efteem, tho' they are now in a great 
meafure difufed, as not being fo galate- 
able as the other kinds are. 

Thofe that are skiil'd in botany af- 
firm, the mallow malva has its appella- 
tion from its emollient virtue in loofning 
the ventricle;, and the like. Owx. Herbals 
have given us the figures and definitions 
of feveral kinds, or rather fpecies, couch- 
ing alfo the hollyhock or garden mal- 
lows under that denomxination ; but the 
kinds more properly belonging to this 
clafs, are the malva fylv. vulgaris flore 
purpureO: common mallows with purple 
flowers 5 and the malva vulgaris fore 
albo, white mallows. 

The currd fort, Mr. Evelyn fays, is 
the beft, being very friendly and emol- 
lient to the ventricle, and fo rather me- 
dicinal, yet may the tops, well boil'd, 
be admitted 5 and the reft (tho' out of 
ufe at prefent) was taken by the poets 
for all fallets in general. Tythagoras 
held them the malv^ folium fan^ijfmum^ 
(as the learned author beforementiond 
has it ;) and we find (fays he) EpimenideSy 
in TlatOy at his mallows and afphodels ; 
and indeed it was of old the firft difli 

at 



^he Tra^tkal Kitchen Gardiner. 147 

at the table 5 and the Romans accounted 
it (as they very weli might in thofe hot- 
ter countries) amongft the mod delicate 
of the garden produce. 

Mallows, or marih. mallows (fays Mr. 0/ /// 
la ^intinye) are propagated by ^ctdM^^^^^- 
only, and are like one another in fhape, 
but yet different as well in colour as 
in bignefs ; for the feed of the mdl- 
lows is much bigger than that of the 
marfh mallows 5 and the latter is of a 
deeper brown than that of the plain 
mallows 5 they are both dented, and are 
Ilrip'd all over. ( 

This plant, tho' it be little ufed mTime of 
boiling with us here in England^, is yet^^^'^'S- 
of great moment in many other medi- 
cinal cafes, and fhould not, for that rea- 
fon, be left out of the garden. The 
feeds are fown in March or Aprily and 
the green is fo hardy that it will grow 
any where, and refiil the extremity of 
the fevereft winters, being in truth on- 
ly a field-plant, which yet ought to be 
allow'd a place in the potagery or kitchen 
garden 5 tho' decency will not allow us 
to point out their particular ufes in this 
treatife. To finifh this part of my task. 



% % Ther#, 



148 The Tragical Kitchen Gar diner I 

There were many other kinds of plants 
that were antiently admitted into the 
potagery and boiler, before fpinage, and 
other greens brought from Spain^ and 
unknown to this and fome other parts 
of the world, were in ufe 5 to wit, the 
young tender leaves of the lapathim acu- 
turn majus & fninimumy as they are fi- 
gur'd and defcrib'd by Gerard, p. 388. 
and by Tarkinfony p. 1224. (as the com- 
mon mercury, from its leaves and me- 
thod of feeding fomewhat ally*d to fpi- 
nage) is now eaten by country people, 
as alfo hop-tops, nettles, &c. The 
lyjimachia Jiliquofa glabra minor, the 
fmall, fmooth, codded willow herb, 
when frefh and tender, may be ufed a- 
mongft the boil'd or raw fallets j the 
paler white poppcy is eaten by the Ge- 
noefe , by the Spaniard the tops of worm- 
wood, with oil alone, and without fo 
much as bread 5 as alfo coriander and 
rue, which Galen, that prince of herba- 
rifts, was accuftom'd to eat raw and by 
it felf, without oil and fait 5 not to men- 
tion the very thiftles, plants and herbs 
that grew heretofore in the hedges. But 
of this enough. 



SECT. 



The Tracfical Kitchen Gardiner. 149 



S E G T. III. CHAP. XXIX. 
Of garden forreL 

SOrrel, in kitchen garden terms (fays 
xMr. T)e la §luintinye) is placed un- 
der the title of verdures, or green pot- 
herbs;, and accordingly is much ufed in 
the pot. 

It is caird * acetofa^ or oxalis, from 
the fnarpnefs or fowernefs of its juice, 
as botanids tell us. 

Our herbarifts fpeak of five or fix forts, 
"viz. acetofa Germanic a ^ or o^ava^ the 
large German forrel, the beft of all for 
boiling 5 acetofa five oxalis Franca feti 
Romana, {Gerard , 307. Tarkinfon^ 
p, 742.) the French forrel, very much 
efleem'd , Acetofa vulgaris, common 
forrel 5 acetofa teniii folio, or the aceto- 
fa min. lanceolata pradic. fheeps forrel ; 
to which they add the acetofa minim/i 
five oxalis minor, the fmall leav'd forrel, 
the beft of all to cut into fallets, on 
account of the fincnefs of its leaves 5 

* Acetofa (?|«A<f, ab acldo fapore didl. Catal. Hort. 
Botan, p. 3» 

L 3 there 



1 50 7 he 7 radical Kitchen Gardiner. 

there are divers kinds, viz. the French 
acetocella, with a round leaf, growing 
plentifully in the North of England), 
the Roman oxalis, the broad German be- 
fore-mentioned ; but the beft of all is 
the Greenland, and fo the pradice of 
gardiners, and the catalogues of our beft 
feedfmen confirm. There is another 
kind of forrel caird acetofum trtfolium^ 
being the alleltiia, ox trifoliated wood- 
forrel, which is of the nature of other 
forrels, being cold, abfterfive, acid, and 
fharpens the appetite, affwagcs heat, cools 
the liver, ftrengthens the heart, is an 
anti-fcorbutick, refilling putrefadion^ 
and imparting fo grateful a quickne fs 
amidft all other herbs, as fupplies the 
want of orange, lemon, and other of 
fhe omphacia, and therefore never to be 
excluded out of boil'd or raw fallets. 
This and fpinage being boil'd, and cut 
with poaclid eggs, is, in my humble 
opinion, one of the beft fupper-diflics 
in the world. In France we are told 
it is ufed in bullions or thin broth, as 
their cooks do here alfo. 

All thefc kinds bear feed, which may 
|)e fow'd in any of the months of Marchy 
^prilj May^ JunCy July and Angufi, 

and 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 1 5 1 

and (as Mr. T^e la ^intinye obfcrves) 
in the beginning of September too j pro- 
vided they be allowed fufficient time to 
grow big enough to refift the rigor of 
the winter. Sorrel may be fowed either 
open ground, or in drills, as fpinage 
was 5 but being a plant that lives many 
years without any renovation, and form- 
ing many heads or tufts, it is eafily part- 
ed or flipt, and the manner of doing 
which in the fpring being well known, 
I need not enlarge upon it. 

The chief culture of this herb is the 
keeping them clean weeded, and watering 
it in fome of the parching dry fenfons, 
otherwife it will eat \yither d and tough ; 
and you fliould alfo cut off the old 
leaves twice or thrice a year, and put 
frefh mold and dung mixt together over 
the old ftems or tufts 5 by which means 
tiie herb becomes as it were new, and 
the young tender leaves make a fuffici- 
ent amends for the expence 5 and by 
cutting fome part of it at one time, and 
fome at another (for it fhould not be 
cut all at one time) you will always have 
fome that is young and tender 3 except 
it be faved for feed, for which there is 
little occafion, fince it is fo well raifed 
L 4 by 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

by ofF-fets or flips. And thus much 
concerning forrel. 

I {hall now finifh this fedion with 
the artichoke and afparagus, that with 
fo much honour bring up the rear of 
boil'd fallets. 

• SECT. III. CHAP. XXX. 
Of the articheaux, or artichoke. 

TH E artichoke of the Englijh, or 
articheaux of the French, which 
was in former times calFd Cynara, might 
have very juftly maintained a priority in 
this feftion, but that I have referv'd this 
and the afparagus to ciofe the ranks, 
and bring up the rear of all boil'd fal- 
lets. 

The antients have a fable, by which 
they would make us believe that arti- 
cheaux, the Cynara of thofe times, had 
its original appellation from Cynara, a 
certain virgin, who was metamorphosed 
out of her own fhape into this ufeful 
plant: But others, better skill'd in bo- 
tanology, fay it had its derivation a ci- 
mere (from a^es) which makes them flou- 
lifli very well j or rather, that it is fo 

call'4 



7he Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

eaird from that fine pale, afhy blew^ 
with which the leaves and ftalks are 
powder d. 

Our Englijh Her hah divide the arti- 
choke into three forts or fpecics, whicii 
are indeed, I believe, all that we have 
now, tho' in fome meafure obfcur'd and 
unknown by thofe names, *viz. the 
cynara fativa rubra, or the cynara maxi- 
ma AngUcay the large red Englijh gar- 
den artichoke 5 perhaps no other than 
what we now call the red Romany the 
€ynara fativa alba, the garden white ar- 
tichoke 5 and the cynara patula, or the 
French artichoke of Tarkinfon, p, 519. 
and of Gerard, 1 1 5 3 . in all probabi- 
lity no other than the open-headed green 
artichoke, fometimes caird the crown- 
artichoke 5 however that be, the kinds 
that now have place mofl: in our gar- 
dens, and which are only larger or fmal- 
Icr, better or worfe, according to the 
goodne fs of the foil on which they are 
planted, are the red Roman j the crown 
artichoke, and the large green, which 
is indeed an excellent kind, and but in 
few hands as yet : But moft of them are 
to be had at the Bathj v^ry good. 



1 54 The 7 Tactical Kitchen Gardiner. 

It is a plant that is cultivated araongft 
market-gardiners about London, with 
more than ordinary induftry, becaufe it 
brings in great profit, for about and af- 
ter Michaelmas all their whole 8;ardens 
at Rotherhith, Lambethy and other ad- 
jacent places, are nothing elfe; where 
putting them into a kind of baskets they 
call maunds, they fell them from two, 
to three, four, or five fhiilings per maund, 
that does not hold above a dozen, a 
dozen and half, or two dozen at moft, 
fewer or more according as the artichokes 
are in fize 5 thofe that are the largeft be- 
ing the moft valuable, as yielding what 
they call the largeft bottoms, and confe- 
quently the moft meat. 
ofthefea- Thcrc is but one feafon for flipping 
[on and and tranfplauting of artichokes, though 
7hrpropL "^hey come in at different feafons 5 the 
gation Wfirft begin to appear in Mayj and while 
TllZket^^^y Jire fmall are often fry d by the 
cook, for feveral ufes in the kitchen 5 
but in June and July they will be in 
perfection, according as the ftem is more 
or lefs in good proof 5 for thefc firft 
always come from old roots or ftems, 
that have been planted two or three 
years j fpr which reafon you fhould al- 
4 ' ^ ways 



ne TraBical Kitchen Gardiner , 

ways take care to have two or three 
dozen of old roots or ftems, not only 
as they are to afford early heads, but 
alfo that from thence (as from a nurfery) 
you may draw off young fets to fcatter 
all up and down your garden, in all va^ 
cant places, as the London or market 
gardiners do: But as thefe old flocks 
will grow too large, and confequently 
decay in three or four years, about the 
middle of thofe four years you are to 
plant more, that fo you may have a con- 
flant fupply , and it is alfo proper to 
have your new roots for fuch fupply 
from foils of a different nature, or elfe 
thefe, like many other of the garden- 
produce, will degenerate and come to 
nothing. 

They are multiply'd, as is before hint- 
ed, by flips or off-fcts which every plant 
of them naturally produces yearly in 
the fpring, round its old root, and 
which muft be taken off with care, and 
with what fibres you poffibly can, as 
foon as they are grown big enough y 
leaving to each ftock three of the befl, 
and thofe that are fituated at the far- 
thefl diftance from each other, to head 
for the firil crop. The diftance and me- 

thod 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

thod of planting them is too well known 
for me to need to repeat or enlarge up- 
on it j but it muft be noted that it ought 
to be a good deep flrong foil, trench'd 
in with dung and earth well mix'd to- 
srethcr, and not fuch as lies in the wa- 
ter, nor yet, if ponible, on a dry fand, 
for then, without watering it confider- 
ably, your heads will be always fmall. 

Artichokes, as moft other kitchen 
vegetables do, affcft a frefh hearty deep 
foil, before fuch is mended or made o- 
\xr rank with dung, as I have experi- 
enced in the fruitful potagery of Blen- 
heimy where there was fome of the 
largefl, fwcetcft, and bed artichokes 
at their firft planting, that ever were feen 
in England y at leaft that came to my 
knowledge. 

The French plant them in beds of a- 
bout four foot wide, and three foot 
diilance from each other; but in Eng- 
land we generally plant them at about 
three foot afunder every way, and fo go 
on each fide the rows, making no bed 
at all, the reafon of which is, becaufe 
they plant beet-chards between each row, 
as requiring one and the fame culture 
and care in prefcrving all the winter ^ 



T^he 7ra£tkal Kitchen Gafdmef. 

or, which is a reafon of fome moment^ 
that the roots of the beet- chard being 
fweeter and tenderer, may divert the 
garden-mice from gnawing the roots of 
the artichokes, which in winter-feafon^ 
for want of better food, they are apt to 
do. 

Thefe plants, as is before obfervedj, 
fliould be removed once every three 
years, cutting off all their out-leaves at 
the beginning of every winter;^ but tak- 
ing care the heart or infide be not da- 
maged 5 and at the fame time laying fome 
new long dung amongft them, letting a„ 
little of the middle or ftock appear a- 
bove ground 5 this is a pradice that 
is common in all gentlemens gardens : 
But thofe who have large gardens for 
the market, and have not quantities of 
long dung fufficient for their purpofcj, 
only tie up their middles with little 
bands of bafs-mats, having firft flipt and 
prun'd them, as before, and cut off all 
their out-leaves, then dig round them at 
fome reafonable diftance, and, according 
to the term ufed amongft gardiners, land 
them up 5 which landing is generally 
done in OBobery or the beginning of 
November^ and the drier the earth is 



tS^ The TraSfical Kitchen Gardiner. 

at the time of landing, the better, for 
fear it fliould rot the heart of the 
choke. 

About March is the time for unco- 
vering and flipping them as before, if 
big enough, if not, you are to defer it 
fome time longer, taking off all that 
ftraw and litter that is on, before it be 
as it \v€;i:e converted to dung, and dig 
it into the ground, but not deep, only 
juft fpittle it in, as gardiners generally 
term it. And this is the method for 
old flocks. 

0/ thi fe- The feeond crop of artichokes (which 

«r//V/2'/'^^^^^^^^^^ laft from the beginning or 
nr tc s, j^^- ^^j^^ ^jig^ji latter end of 

OEiober^ and fometimes, in a mild year, 
part of November) are of the out fets 
from the old flocks before-mentioned, 
where having a good many you chufe 
out only the flrongefl, for fome of the 
fmall ones will not head till the year 
following 5 but all thofe that I am now 
treating of are planted promifcuoufly 
in any vacant part of the garden, where 
the fummer crops are drawn off, from 
the middle of March to the latter end 
of May fucceflively, that they may fuc- 
ceed each other in the fame manner at 

the 



The drastic al Kitchen Gardiner. 150 

the latter end of the year, thofe fets be- 
ing, as is before hinted, to be puU'd up 
* and thrown away after they have pro- 
duc'd their heads. A method obfcrv'd 
by few gentlemens gardiners that I know 
of, tho' much by the market-gardiners 
about London, 

As foon as the fruit of thefe (as well 
as the others) begin to appear, they muft 
be watered plentifully, efpecially if it 
be a dry foil, and a dry feafon, laying 
grafs-muck, or any other long fluff or 
dung, to the roots, to keep them moift, 
for herein depends the largenefs and 
goodnefs that is to be expeded in a good 
artichoke > tho* this is a method not to 
be taken in large gardens, as before j 
for in the marfhes, their ground being 
moift, the fun exhales that moifture in 
fuch a manner as to fave all waterings, 
at leaft any great ones, after they arc once 
planted and rooted. 

The plants (as I faid before) being to 
be puU'd up and thrown away as food as 
the heads are ufed, there needs no fur- 
ther rules for the culture; and if they 
fiiould be prefervedp enough is fet down 
on this head. 



SECT. 



^he TrdUical Kitchen Gar dine fi 



SECT. III. CHAP. XXXI. 



H E car duns effen centuSy or Spa^ 



' JL nijh chard, being a wild fpecies 
br kind of artichoke, comes next to be 
treated of, being amongft the French 
and other outlandilh cooks, had in great 
cfteem, and by them ferved up a la 
poverade, as the trench term it, with 
oii, pepper, &c. 

The ieed is of an oval form, and a- 
bout the bignefs of a wheat grain, of 
a very dark green, or blaekifh colour, 
inark'd with black ftreaks from one end 
to the other, the firft crop of which is 
fown about the middle of Aprils and 
the other at the beginning or middle of 
May. 

Some there are who fow them on 
beds well prepared with dung rotted 
to mold, or on hot-beds when the heat 
is going off, and after that plant them 
out into trenches or pits, as they do 
cellery j but the French, as Mr. T>e la 
^iintinye tells us, fow the feed imme- 
diately in pits, a full foot wide, and fix 



Of the Spanifli chardon. 




inches 



The TraEikal Kitchen Gar diner ^ 

inches deep, fiU'd with good mold, and 
in beds made four or five foot wide, in 
order to place in them two ranks of 
thofe little trenches or pits checker wife : 
they put five or fix feeds in every hole, 
but with an intention to let only two 
or three of them grow, if they all come 
up, taking away thofe that are over and 
above that number, to fupply thofe 
places where perhaps none came up, or 
any other vacancies. 

But if is good to have fome fowed on 
a hot-bed, or on fome bed where the 
heat is expiring, as before 5 thefe being 
cover'd with pieces of old mats or ftraw, 
fhould be opened in fifteen or tvv^en- 
ty days, to fee if they fprout, if not^ 
you may conclude the feed is bad, and 
fo ought to fow more ; the feeds of 
the firft fowing are generally three weeks, 
and the laft fifteen days a coming up, 
but mufl: not be fown before the latter 
end of Aprily or beginning of Maj,, 
being apt to grow big and run to feed 
in Auguft and September y and then they 
are not good 5 for which reafon great 
care muft be taken to water them, be- 
caufe that will hinder them from feed- 
ing, and when towards the latter end of 
M OMer, 



162 The TraSiical Kitchen Gardiner. 

OBober^ you have a mind to whiten 
them, you take the advantage of fome 
dry day to tie up all their leaves toge- 
ther with bands made of ftraw or long 
litter well twifted about them, fo that 
the air may not penetrate nor come at 
them, except it be at the very top, which 
is to be left open. 

Thefe plants thus tied up, will whiten 
in about fifteen days, or three weeks, 
and grow fit to eat. Thofe who make 
ufe of them to any purpofe, continue 
tying them up and covering them, till 
the winter approaches, and then take 
them up, and tranfplant them into the 
green-houfe or cellar (as collyflowers are 
fcrv'd) to have them all the winter ; 
fome of thefe plants are good to tranf- 
plant in the naked earth in the follow- 
ing fpring, to feed in June and July, or 
elfe fome of thofe plants are good to be 
tied up in their firfl: places, and will 
ferve for three or four times together. 



SECT. 



The 7ra£iical Kitchen Gardiner. 



SECT. III. CHAP. XXXIL 
Of the afparagus, its culture, 6cc. 

'^I^HE afparagus is the laft plant I fhall 
Jl^ treat of in this fedion 5 which, 
according to the various methods of its 
raifing, and the many different months 
of the year in which it is eaten, added 
to its own natural goodnefs, might well 
claim the precedence of all other kitchen 
plants. 

It is caird afparagus, fay fomc, {ab afpe- mnvntmi 
ritate) from its aptitude to fhoot or run 
high and into prickles j tho' others, per- 
haps better skill'd in botany, derive it 
from fome roots in the * Greek language, 
which imply its efficacy againft trem- 
bling, as it is fuppofed to be an excel- 
lent cordial, temperately hot and moifl, 
diuretic and eafy of digeflion j and 
Tliny fays of it, that it is omnium hor- 
tenfiorum lautijjima aura 5 and in ano- 
ther ^f- place, the moil ufeful herb that 
is for the ftomach, and being mix d with 

* Afparagus u(r7toi^a.^^<^ ab <* priv,, & c'^cfj^a tremo, 
Vid. Catal. Hort. p.^i. 

t Plin. Nat. Hift. Lib. 20- cap. 10. 

M z cummin^ 



164- Tfje TraSiical Kitchen Gardiner] 

cummin, throws off all inflammations 
therefrom, and helps the eyes. 
Kinds, Onr Englifh writers of plants and gar- 
dening have long ago given us two kinds 
of this ufeful plant, ^viz. the afparagus 
fativuSy or garden afparagus, and the 
afparagus Batavus maximus, the great 
^utch afparagus , and our catalogues 
mention no more : But there are other 
kinds, at lead they have their denomina- 
tion from places where they arc excel- 
lently large and good, fuch as Batterfeay 
Canterbury y Gravefendy and other places, 
raised no doubt from the antient flock, 
and improv'd by foil and culture. 
Troperties. Mr. Evelyn fays, that next to flefh, 
nothing is more nourifliing, as Sim. Se- 
thins, an excellent phyfician held ; they 
are fometimes, fays he, eaten raw with 
oil and vineear ; but with more deli- 
cacy (the bitternefs firft exhaufted) being 
fo fpeedily boil'd as not to lofe that ver- 
dure and agreeable tendernefs which is 
their peculiar excellence and recommen- 
dation, and is done by letting the water 
boil, as you do for coleworts, before 
you put them in 5 and, if I may for 
once aflume the province of a cook, 
the not letting them abide long in wa- 
ter 



The TraElical Kitchen Gardiner, 16$ 

ter after they are boird, but as foon as 
ever the boiling is over, the putting 
them unftringed or untied, on the back- 
fide of a plate, there to be drain'd of 
all its moifture, and then fprinkled with 
fait, and butter d, is, in the opinion of 
fome very curious gentlemen, of great 
value. 

It highly behoves every gardiner mdof rai/kg 
planter that would have good afparagus,^'^^^^^^^^^ 
in the firft place to take efpecial care^«l ' 
about the faving the feed, becaufe from 
thence it is that they may cxpeft good 
fuccefs, and reap the benefit of their 
labour 5 as the ftaiks fpring up in fome 
bed about five or fix years old, obferve 
the earlieft and the largeft, and flicking 
a flick by them, fuffer them not to be 
cut 5 obferve alfo that they be round, 
plump, full, and Ihort-headed, and tur- 
gid or rounding at top 5 and not thin 
and furrowed, which is a fign of a weak 
bad kind 5 and as they begin to branch 
they fhould be flak'd, and fecur'd from 
the winds which will annoy them in 
their feeding, and fuch vigorous fhoots 
will afford feeds well nourifh'd, par- 
taking of the flrength of the mother^ 
plant, 

M 5 The . 



1 66 The TraBkal Kitchen Gardiner. 



of foxor^g The feed being thus fav*d, andclcan'd 
the feed. -^^ flime and mucilage, by wafhing, 
drying) lirc which is done in the latter 
end of September, you can't fow it too 
foon, bccaufe, like fome other feeds, 
it takes fome time to extricate if felf 
out of that teftaceous prifon or fhell, 
in which it is enclos'd. The earth where- 
in it is fown fnouid be of the richeft 
kind, and it may be fown either in 
drills, or in open ground, taking care 
to cover it over with fine mold, and 
after that with fome fhort, and almoft 
rotten dung (better than that which is 
longer) to keep the froft out of the 
ground, during the winter- feafon 5 and 
by that means the plants will fhoot very 
early and very (Irong in the fpring, and 
be as good as any two year plants or- 
dered other ways 5 and in this bed they 
may ftand, if not too thick, which 
fnouid be carefully avoided, for two 
yearS;, vizi. from the Michaelmas they 
are fowed, to the next March come 
twelve months foliovving, and then 
they will be fit to plant out into open 
beds, but if let alone a year longer, 
they will be never the worfe, but then 
thev mull: be thmn'd; or elfe the roots 

will 



The Traffic al Kitchen Gardiner, 1 67 

will entangle in one another fo as that 
they can't be parted without fome diffi- 
culty, nor grow fo large. 

There are others that chufe to fow 
thefe feeds in the fpring, on account of 
the garden mice, which are apt to de- 
vour the feed : Nor can it be deny'd, 
but that the fpring fowing is near as 
good as the autumn ; but they muft ftand 
in the feed- bed at lead two years from 
their fowing, and mud, as well as the 
others are, be carefully weeded and wa- 
tered, during the fummer months, ail 
that time ; and indeed, after all, it is 
bcfl: for a private gentleman, that plants 
but half a dozen or half a fcore beds, 
to buy of fome honed well-known gar- 
diner, who raifes them on purpofe, be- 
caufe it will expedite the owner s hopes 
the fooner. 

The plants being thus rais'd, or pro- of the 
cur'd, you are, about the beginning oP^^»f'"^4' 
March J to prepare your ground to j-^. 
ceive them, firft, by trenching out fuch 
a piece of ground as you defign for it, 
be it either three, four, five or fix rod 
of ground, more or lefsj but three rod 
is enough for a fmall family, as five or 
fix is for a large one. 

M 4 In 



168 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 



In the firft place, you are to open a 
trench three foot wide, as is the man- 
ner when you trench for carrots, parf- 
nips, or other efculents, and laying the 
fwarth or turf at bottom, lay next to it 
a layer of dung and rich earth mix'd, 
a foot thick, (for it will fink to lefs) 
and after another layer or mixture of 
the natural mold about fix inches more, 
and then another layer of dung and earth 
mix'd, about a foot more j and laft of all, 
a foot thick of good natural mold, mix'd 
with old melon earth, at leafl the places 
where the roots are planted fhould be 
fiird with fuch. 

The whole ground being thus levell'd, 
the beds are to be mark'd out at about 
four foot wide, and to contain four 
rows, at twelve inches afunder, which 
makes in all three foot, the outfide line 
of each bed to be fix inches within the 
edge or verge of the four foot bed, be- 
tween w^hich let there be an alley of 
two foot, to come between to weed the 
beds 5 which done, rake the bed length- 
ways, at the three foot diftance before- 
mentiond, and then again crofs-ways, 
every miark being a foot wide, tho' others 
there are that make them not above 

eight 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 169 

eight or nine inches, but that in time, 
when the roots come to fpread> will be 
too narrow. 

When this is done, open all the 
points where the line has croffed five 
or fix inches wide, and about an inch or 
two deep, and fpread the roots of the 
afparagus, as the roots of an elm or o- 
ther tree is fpread 5 for the fqueezing 
them together, and fetting them with a 
dibber is not a good way, inafmuch as 
it forces the root to run downwards, 
and not to expand it felf as it ought 
to do. 

This done, cover in the root with a- 
bout three or four inches of mold, and 
the beds being all leveird and fmooth'd, 
thereon you may fow a thin crop of 
onions, lettuce, and other falletings, as 
ufual, but not thick. 

The earth being all frefh and ^ooiy of the/um- 
there will be little occafion of renew- /^^^Z 
ing or laying on any dreffes on yonr^'^^sieZ^' 
ground for two or three years to come, 
after they are planted ; but you muft 
every winter lay on a little long litter, 
to keep the froft out of the ground, 
and in the fpring, when it is rotten, 
ftir it about, and dig out a little earth, 

"Which 



ijo The Practical Kitchen Gardiner. 

which will naturally fall into the alleys 
aud lay upon it, and care muft be ta- 
ken to weed and keep the beds clean, 
all the two fummers following ; but 
you muft not fow or plant any large 
crops on the beds, nor cut any of the 
afparagus till the third year after the 
plants are planted, becaufe if you do 
it will caufe the roots to bleed, and 
weaken them in fuch a manner as that 
they won't be long liv'd, or bear fo 
large Ihoots, or endure long afterwards. 
About Michaelmas, or fome reafon- 
ter iirejjing ^]^-[^ ^-^^^^^ afterwards, you are to cut a- 

^sliT.^' ^'^y the haulm and feed of the afpara- 
gus, and, according to the common me- 
thod, lay fome longifh dung thereon, 
to keep out the extreme frofts and cold 
weather that happens in the winters 
and confequently to keep the afparagus 
lb warm as that it may bud out as early 
as poflible in the fpring^ and in this 
procedure it can't be deny'd but laying 
muck out of the ftables, or old thatch 
of a barn, may keep the beds open and 
from freezing, bat there is fomething 
more to be confidered, and that is, a 
miuftinefs that thofe kind of dungs muft 
create in their lying fo long on the bed 5 

according 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, iji 

according to the ingenious Dr. Lifter^ 
then (in the Thilof, TranfaSi. num. 25.) 
inftead of covering the beds with fuch 
nafty Utter, I fhould advife a mixture of 
fea-cole afhes, fea-fand, oyfter-fhells burnt 
and bruis'd, and all mix'd with a little 
earth and rotten dung to mire them 
with, and room to open therein, and 
to heat and infpire the bed with new 
and produftive vigor 5 and upon all that 
fuperfeminating and ftrewing fome clean 
wheat-ftraw 5 and what may not be cx- 
peded from a bed fo drefs'd ? The third 
year, when the afparagus is fit for cut- 
ting, when there is fuch a top and fuch 
a bottom, the top ought to be about 
five or fix inches of this new earth > 
but that is not to be apply'd till the 
year before you cut your afparagus. 

There are fome who drefs their beds 
with the dung of pigeons or poultry ; 
which by reafon of its great falaciouf- 
nefs, heats and enriches the ground be- 
low to a very great degree, and will 
produce ftaiks of an uncommon dimen- 
fion, and caufe a hundred of the grafs 
to weigh from tw^enty to twenty five 
pounds, or more 5 but I muft leave it to 
the difquifition of all curious palates, 

and 



172 The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 

and to experience whether grafs fo large, 
and which is dung'd with fuch a nafty 
dung can be good, or indeed any bet- 
ter than thofe which are rais'd at or 
about Lambeth^ or any other part of 
London-, which may be eafily tafted and 
diftinguifhed from that which is fiiiallcr, 
and is rais'd in the country, %vhi]{l the 
other is as if it grew in a {linking dung- 
heap, and the gardens thenifelves n:ore 
nafty and unwholefome than any com- 
aion-fhorc. 

SECT. III. CHAP. XXXIII. 

Of the forcing or raifing afparagus 'very 
early, 

1 "^HE forcing and railing of afpa- 
Jl^ ragus early, will require a chap- 
ter it feif, it being now a matter fo 
much in ufc, at kaft tiie manner or me- 
thod of raifing it, in ail its degrees, is 
too large for a chapter in fo fmall a 
volume. 

The Dutch were the firft that brougllt 
this method over with them out of Hoi- 
landy and at the revolution, amongft 
other things, with which gard'ning has 

now 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

now fome tindure and remains, for, 
contrary to us, they love that which is 
either white by nature, or is whitned 
by art $ whilft the Englijhy J think with 
much more probability of reafon, love 
that which is the greeneftj but I re- 
member a very great Prince (King WiU 
liam the Third) that delighted in the 
white kind above all others, which pro- 
bably induced his countrymen to follow 
his example 5 and this is with us, tho* 
of little account, truly call'd T>utch afpa- 
ragus. 

There are two methods by which gar- 
diners force their afparagusj the firft is 
left to us by Mr. T)e la ^intinye j but 
the laft is what our own countrymen 
and market-gardiners have arriv'd to a 
great perfection in. 

That of Monf. ^e la ^lintinje, and 
which he recommends for forrel, and 
were better extended aifo to mint and 
tarragon, is to take out the earth in the 
alleys between two cold beds, a foot 
(I add, if poffible, about two foot) deep, 
and fill them up afterwards with long 
warm dung, to heat the neighbouring 
earth, and if it be for afparagus, to co- 
ver the whole bed over with the fame 

diuigp 



1 74 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

dung, to deprefs the heat of the other 
dung, which would otherwife evaporate, 
and to help to warm the earthy and 
when the afparagus begins to fprout, 
they put bells upon each plant, or co- 
ver the whole beds with glafs frames, 
which is better , after which the heat of 
thofe paths muft be renewed, by ftirring 
them from the bottom upwards, or by 
renewing, from time to time, an appli- 
cation of frefh dung, covering (befides) 
the bells or glafs frames with dry long 
dung, or skreens of ftraw, or fuch like 
matter, for the reafons above expreffed, 
when we were treating of afparagus and 
forrel in hot-beds. The afparagus plants 
being thus warm'd, and feeling under 
thofe bells or glafs frames an air as com- 
fortable as that in the months of April 
or May- they produce fhoots that are 
red at their firft coming up, but which 
after that turn green and long, like 
thofe that nature it felf produces in 
warm and temperate feafons. The on- 
ly inconvenience of thefc artificial heat- 
ings, is, that becaufe they muft be very 
violent to penetrate fo cold an earth, 
they dry up and fpoil thofe plants, fo 
that fuch afparagus^ inftead of continu- 
ing 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 175 

ing for fifteen years together, to bear 
well, as otherwife they would do, never 
fpring kindly afterwards ; and tho* they 
be let alone two or three years after 
the fruit heating, yet at moft are able 
to endure but one more. 

What may be added to this, with 
more than poffible reafon, is, that the 
alleys of thofe beds you intended to 
ufe in this manner ought to be at leafl: 
three foot and a half or four foot wide, 
and the beds not above two foot and 
a half or three foot at moft 5 for it is a 
great thicknefs of earth, when beds are 
four foot wide, and the alleys but two, 
for fuch a fmall body of dung to ftrike 
a heat thro' it 5 as all thofe that make 
hot-beds to raife melons, cucumbers, and 
other things, do experience. 

It will be alfo to little purpofe to en- 
deavour to heat beds that are old and 
worn out, but rather thofe that are four, 
five, fix or feven years old ; for then 
the roots are ftrong, and able to bear 
the heat 5 whereas thofe that are old and 
worn out, if they fhoot at all the grafs 
will be fmall and good for little i but 
the roots of afparagus are fo eafily rais'dj, 
or fo cheap to be procur d, that any 
z perfon 



T!he ^raBtcal Kitcheyi Gardiner. 

perfon with a tolerable purfe or induf- 
try may furnifh himfelf with beds and 
glafles or bell frames, for this purpofe. 
But I would have the gardiner go above 
two foot deep in the procefs above- 
mention'd, and as much as in him lies 
undermine the bed with his fpade, and 
thruft the dung underneath. 

Mr. T)e la ^uintinye direds, that the 
aforegoing proceeding, in relation to 
afparagus beds, is not to be done till 
fome time in January^ it being in the 
direftions of that month 5 fo that what 
is above written is fet down, at leaft 
fo much of it, as it was penned by that 
moft excellent and induftrious gardiner j 
but our writers of late are fo mild, and 
the bufinefs of gardening is fo much 
better known, and fo much more im- 
proved, fince his time, and the experi- 
ence of thefe days fhew us, that an in- 
duftrious gardiner may well begin in 
November or T)ecember-, as foon as he 
has taken leave of his fummer and au- 
tumn employ 5 for afparagus is of too 
hardy a nature to be hurt by any little 
cold about the beginning or middle of 
November ; then may be allowed to be a 
time proper to begin the aforefaid work. 

I The 



^raBkal Kitchen Gat dim 177 

The other and laft method of forcing The laji 
afparagus, is on hot-beds made at feve- ^^^'^^^ < 
ral times, from the beginning of No-parlgJi' 
*vember to the beginning or middle of 
February that you may have them fuc~ 
cellively one after another, till the fea- 
fon permits, when nature will produce 
them of her own accord. This Mon£ 
la §luintinye tells us, in his month- 
ly produdion of TO>ecember 5 a work of 
no inconfiderable pains and expence § 
but the pleafure of feeing, in the midft 
of the fevereft froft and fnow> abun- 
dance of afparagus grow both thick and 
green, and every way moft excellent;, 
is great enough for to take us off from 
grudging at our coft and trouble. And 
it may be truly faid, (fays that haughty 
potager, in praife of his great matter,) 
that was then a privilege hardly belong- 
ing to any but his great mafter 5 tho' 
now we can fhew them thoufands up- 
on thoufands in the gardens of our la- 
borious neat-houfe men. 

But to proceed in the method of 
forcing afparagus on hot- beds made on 
purpofe. You are, in the firft place, to 
raife or procure roots that are proper for 
it, of about three or four years old at 

moils 



The ^ratlical Kitchen Gar diner . 

moft ; the taking of old worn-out roots 
for that purpofe, out of old beds, be- 
ing, in the opinion of all praftitioners, 
but loft labour 5 fuch roots ought then 
to be three or four years old, and fuch 
as are healthy and ftrong, (or they won't 
bear fuch violent forcing) of which the 
gardiners and neat-houfe men about 
London have always great ftore, which 
they fell to one another, when any one 
of their own fraternity wants them, for 
about four or five fhillings per pole, 
more or lefs, for any pole of lixteen 
foot and a half fquare 5 and great care 
Ihould be taken that the roots be not 
cut fhort or bruis'd. 

Being thus provided with roots about 
the beginning of November^ you are to 
make a ridge, or ridges, according to 
the quantity of melon frames you have ; 
and this ridge ought to be made very 
ftrong, the weather being cold, and the 
ridge to laft a great while 5 five foot 
wide at bottom, four foot at top, and 
three foot, or three foot and a half high, 
at leaft; made in the manner that has 
been heretofore taught for melon ridges, 
having a fifth or fixth part of cole-afties, 
tanners bark, faw-duft, or any other ve- 
getable 



like ^raBical Kitchen Gardner. 

getable matter mix'd with it, to prolong 
its heat, and clothing it and the frames 
and glafies all over, raife the heat at its 
firft making, and ufing all fuch arts as 
have been taught before on other ac- 
counts, for the llrengthning and conti- 
nuance of the heat of beds. 

You may earth your ridge immedi- 
ately as foon as evet it is made, about 
five or fix inches thick i and as there is 
not fo much danger in burning the roots 
as there is in melons and cucumbers, 
the plants may be alfo immediately fet, 
there being a layer of rotten dung put 
upon the ridge to keep the heat from 
rifing irregularly, as heretofore menti- 
oned 5 after the plants are fet at about 
eight inches afunder, you cover the roots 
two inches thick with the beft old me- 
lon-bed earth you can get. 
• But as yet you need not put on the 
glaffes, but only throw mats over the 
earth, that the fteam and fury of the 
dung may have room to evaporate, whilft 
the roots will be ftriking in the ground ; 
and let the ridge lie fo for five or 
days, then put over your frames and 
glaffes, and lay an inch, or two or three 
inches more^ of frefli mold ovef again. 

N z Wheu 



I So 7he VraBical Kitchen Gardiner". 

When the buds begin to appear a" 
bove ground, which will be in about 
ten or fifteen days after planting 5 then 
you muft give them air, according as the 
weather will permit, fuice it is that 
whidh^makes^them green, and contri- 
butes chiefly t^ the goodnefs of their 
tafte 5 and if the ridge is in any degree 
hot, and the weather mildifh, they may 
be tiled up with a thick tile or piece 
of brick, all night as well as day 5 for 
the more they have of the ftcam, the 
more fickly and dungy they will tafle. 

Some give them an inch or two of 
frefh mold more, after they are come 
up, not Judging it right to earth the 
ridge but two or three times 5 but thus 
managed you may exped good grafs for 
a month fuccellively, if the feverity of 
the weather, or, which is worfe, great 
rains and no fun, don t hinder. But it s 
proper, as the heat of your ridge de- 
cays, and as the weather is either fe- 
verer or milder, to lay frefh dung all 
round the bed, to ftrike in frefh heat, 
and to cover the glaffes above in all 
cold weather, fo as that the bed may 
keep working continually, as gardiners 
who are ufcd to this employ phrafe it. 
I And 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner '. 1 8 1 



And for a continual fucccffion all the 
winter, in about three weeks more let 
thcix be another ridge made;, and in a- 
bout three weeks or a month more an- 
other, moving the frames and glafles 
from one to another, as the former beds 
go off 5 unlefs you have enough for them 
all, which is indeed better. A ridge of 
ten or twelve yards long is fufficient for 
any middling family. 

SECT. IV. CHAP. XXXIV. 

Of thofe efculent and bulbous -rooted 
plant S:, &c. that are raisd in kitchen 
gardens. 



HE next feftion, or clafs of cu- 



JL linary plants I fhall produce, are 
thofe that are rais'd purely for the fake 
of their- roots, which are fometimes 
long, fometimes round, and fometimes 
tuberous or grumous, as nature has dit 
pofed them to be, but all of them very 
ufeful in the kitchen, and for the bene- 
fit of life. 

Thofe that have wrote of the deriva-O/z/^^^^- 
tion of the word efculentus, tell us, it ^'^'^'^^^^^^ 
U an adjedlive of Cicero% fo call'd {quod 




N 3 



efui 



X S2 7he TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

eftii aptun eft) from their aptitude to be 
eaten raw or boiFdj and in this fenfe 
alfo Scaliger ufes the word, where he 
lets down that it has not occurred to 
him whether the feeds or herbs are eat- 
able in like manner as the plants them- 
felves are 5 by which it appears, by efcu- 
lent muft be underflood its edible qua- 
lity, and not its fhapc, as fome great 
gardiners have underftood; andfo Schre- 
'velius alfo confirues it to be efculentuSy 
from B^ujo-ificgy or B^^t^V??, {quia comedi po- 
teft) derived from the German word, 
broat, anglicey bread. But be that as it 
will, of this kind are the red and o- 
range carrot, the fwelling and Navarre, 
Of this kind alfo are the parfnip, the 
black and white Spanijh radifh, the 
London^ Sortop and Sandwich radifh, 
with the Scorzonera^ and others. 
€)f the Of the bulbous kinds, are the white, 
kinds. yellow, and round turncp ; the Straf- 
burgh, Spanijhy EngliJ^o, and Weljh oni- 
on, the fiiallot, gariick and roccam- 
bo. 

And of the tuberous, grumous or va- 
rious-rooted kind, the skerret, potataa 
&c. all of them of the greateft ufe, 
|)oth for wliQl^fomcncfs and ftrength, 

that 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 185 

that the kitchen garden and patagery 
produce. 

The foil that all or moft of the above- Of the foil 
nam'd roots chiefly affed, is rich fandy /';^/'^^/^'° 
loam, and for the cfculents, that which 
is pretty deep, in order to give the roots 
room to run down ; and it is proper 
that ail of them be well dug or trench'd, 
either deeper or fhallower, as the na- 
ture of the root requires, fome time be- 
fore you fow tiiem ; the particular me- 
thods of doing all which will be found 
under their refpeftive titles, as they are 
before fet down, with their appellati- 
ons, fpecies and culture, regard being 
had to their excellence or fize, as they 
ftand difcriminated under the above- 
mentioned heads. 

SECT. IV. CHAP. XXXV. 
Of the parfnip, carroty &c. 

PArfnips and carrots, tlie dauci or Qy^^^^^/^ 
pajlinaca fativa of the herbarifts,^/^. 
are moft excellent nourifhing roots, e- 
fpecially the parfnip, of which there is 
but one kind that is cultivated in gar- 
dens, that I have feen or heard of 5 but 
N 4 of 



IS 4- The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

of the carrot there are two kinds that 
are temperately warm, dry and fpicy 5 
but the bcft are the yellow, tho* there 
are fome that love the red bcft, on ac- 
count of its noble colour 5 nor do I 
think there is any remarkable difference 
in their tafte or goodnefs. 

The pajlinaca above-nam'd, is of two 
fpecies, the latifolia and temtifo- 

lia--, the former the parfnip, and the lat- 
ter the carrot, and are faid hy^JJidorus 
(as Mr. Ray has it) to be derived from 
paftuSj food, becaufe the roots thereof 
are of great ufe in the food of man 5 
however it be, they were of great efteem 
amongft the ancients, as Tliny and o- 
thers teftify. 

TheophraJitiSy in his ninth book of 
plants (as fays Gerard) mentions ano- 
ther kind, Vv^hich he terms ftaphylinus 
and Thny has, as I remember, the fame 
name, but it muft be the daiicus Creten- 
Jis, not fo well know^n in kitchen gar- 
dens, the roots whereof are faid tQ be 
a fovereign remedy againft poifon. 
Of dejc- Our Englifh Herbals have a long time 
W/ds S^^^^^ ^^^^ account of thofe kinds we are 

* Paftinaca f. d. quod radix ejus prscipims lit ^af^ 

iits kosiirii, ut vult If Jar us, lib,, 17. (at, 

now 



The Tra^iical Kitchen Gardiner. i%s 

now poffefs'd of, viz, the paftinaca 
latif. fativa of Gerard, p. 125, and of 
Tarkinfon, p, 944. the garden parfnip ; 
and another of the wild kind, elapho- 
bofcum, of no ufe in the kitchen 5 the 
pafiinaca fativa tenuifolia lutea, or yel- 
low carrot ; and the pafiinaca fativa te- 
nuifolia atrorubenSy or red carrot, are 
both alfo found in Gerardy p, 1027. and 
ia Tarkinfony 901. but now they are 
diftinguifii'd by the names of the yel- 
low or Sandwichy red carrot, ^c. 

Thofe that write concerning the vir- 
tues of plants, fay that the nourifhment 
that comes from thefe roots is not very 
much, nor very good 5 and that they 
debilitate and weaken, rather than 
ftrengthen 5 that they are windy, but 
not fo much as turneps, and fo don't 
pafs thro' the body fo foon 5 however, 
they caufe meat to be eaten with more 
pleafure, and their virtues, perhaps, may 
not be fo little as thofe gentlemen ima- 
gine they are. 

Carrots delight in a warm, light, 5^;//; 
fandy foil 5 but parfnips can't have a foil 
that is too ftrong. If the ground be 
heavy, it muft be trench'd, or garden- 
fallow'd^ either in the winter or fum- 



IS6 



The TraEtical Kitchen Gardiner, 



nier before you fow i which trenching, 
furrowing, or laying in ridges, fhould 
be performed as has been before direft- 
ed under that head, in the firft fedion 5 
but the ground mull by no means be 
dung*d that year, but fuch as has carried 
collyflowers, cabbage, or fome other 
kitchen fluff the year before, and when 
the dung is well confum'd. 
Seafons of There are three or four feafons where- 
their jow^ '^^^ it is proper to fow carrots, (though 
parfnips are always fow'd at one and 
the fame time 5) the firfl feafon, to have 
them all the winter, and very early in 
the fpring, is in Augtifly under a v/arni 
wall or reed-hedge, and in a good fan- 
dy, or otherwifc light rich ground, or 
old melon bed cover d a foot thick with 
mold 5 and as they grow up, weed and 
water them a little in dry weather, and 
if they are fubjeft to grow too much 
to green, tread them down, and the root 
will grow the fairer and larger. Thcle 
carrots will be fit to draw towards Chrijl- 
tnasy and during ail the fpring months, 
being what they call Michaelmas car- 
rots 5 but when the drynefs or heat of 
the weather in the fpring comes on, they 
foou run t6 feed, and grow flickcy ; for 

whidi 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

which reafon you fliould fow more of 
them foon after Chriftmas^ on an old 
hot- bed, or, which is better, on a little 
dung thrown together, and covcr'd with 
old melon earth i and with this may 
be fown radilhes, lettuce, &c. which 
will be found in the feveral chap- 
ters of the following treatifej and if 
the weather be any thing open, you 
may have good young carrots by the 
beginning of May. 

Thofe that have but little glafs, as 
foon as the hot-bed is made (which is 
to be about four foot wide, two foot 
and a half high, and three or four 
yards long, as you like bcft) make a 
thick twifted band of hay, and going 
round the edge of the bed, fi^ it by 
prick'd flicks into the fide of the bed 5 
after which make a bow or cradle, as i$ 
commonly feen, or is direfted in other 
places. 

But the main crop of all, and which 
is to fupply the kitchen all, or the 
greateft part of the year, is that which 
is fow'd in March 5 the ground ought 
(if it be heavy) to be trench'd and laid 
in ridges all the winter, that the froft 
jnay mellow it^ and kiU the weeds 3 and 



1 8$ The Tra£tical Kitchen Gardiner'. 

if it be a fandy foil, the roots will grow 
larger and larger, be much fweeter, and 
lefs fubjeft to worms, than thofe that 
are fown in rich garden ground, where 
there are very feldom good-tafted car- 
rots i they fhould be fow'd in fine wea- 
ther (according to the old ruftic verfc) 
and after that raked well, and then trod 
or rowrd in, for the feed is fo very light 
that it will be blown about any whither ; 
for which rcafon alfo, the weather fhould 
be ftill and quiet, or elfe your feed will 
be blow'd on heaps, or quite away 5 and 
amongfl: thefe, it is well known, are ge- 
nerally fown, lettuce, radifhes, &c. and 
fome there are that plant green cole- 
worts thin, which are cut off foon e- 
nough to give room and air to the young 
roots, and as it were a guard to them 5 
bat I can by no means allow of pcafe or 
beans interfpers'd, becaufe they (land- 
ing a great while amongft them, draw 
them up weak and thin, and never root 
well. 

Culture. In April and May they fhould be oft 
weeded, or, which is moft: expeditious, 
howed with little hoes about four inches 
wide 5 and the laft howing of all they 
fhoul4 be let at about fix or eight inches 

diftancca 



7he Tfalikal Kitchen Gar diner. 1 89 

diftance, drawing off all the while all 
fuch radifties, lettuce, ^c, as are (if let 
ftand too long) apt to fufFocate and 
choke them up. 

The laft fowing of all, but which is 
not often ufed, is in the beginning of 
June^ for a few young ones for thofe 
that are great lovers of them about Mi- 
chaelmas ; but this fowing fhould be 
under a North wall, or hedge, or in the 
lhade under fome trees. 

The firft fowing, already mentioned, 
may be done fome time about the mid- 
dle of Jufy 5 but if it be a mild autumn, 
which with us it generally is, the be- 
ginning of Auguft is foon enough. 

Parfnips are fown in March, fome- 
times amongft the general or main crop 
of carrots 5 but as they are a root that 
loves a much ftronger foil than carrots 
do, and remain in the ground the great- * 
eft part of the winter, I rather advife a 
piece of ground apart by it felf, in any 
coarfe ftrong quarter. They fhould be 
howed a foot afunder. 

I need add little as to the taking 
carrots up, and putting them in fand in 
the cellar or green-houfe, in order to 
preferve them all the winter : that, with 

many 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

many other things of this kind, being 
too well known for me to enlarge up^ 
on. 

SECT. IV. CHAP. XXXVI. 
Of the radifl). 

TH E radifii, raphanuSy is the next 
efculent I fhall produce under 
this fedion, being fo ufeful in the 
kitchen, that Mr. ^e la §iutntinye fays 
of them, when they are tender, and 
fnap eafily, and are fweet, they are one 
of the plants that gives the moft plea- 
fure of any in the kitchen garden ; and 
which, for their long and general ufe, 
he looks upon as a kind of manna, alf 
belt (as Mr. Evelyn fays) rather medici- 
nal than fo commendably good, accom- 
panying fallets (wherein we often flicc 
the larger roots) and fo are not of fo 
great a ufe as the younger leaves in raw 
fallets, whilft I may add, the old leaves 
are good to boiL Certain it is, the ra- 
difh, almoft all the year, affords a very 
grateful mordacity, and fufficiently tem- 
pers all cooler ingredients, whether 
boil'd or raw, tho' much propercr for 
I the 



The Tra£iicat Kitchen Gardiner. ipr 

the laft than firft. The bigger roots fd 
much defired, fhould be fuch as, being 
tranfplanted, may be eat fhort and quick, 
without ftringinefs, and not too biting, 
and were formerly (as indeed they are 
now) eaten with fait only, as carrying 
their pepper with them. They were ce- 
lebrated by Tlinjy and other the anti- 
cnts, above all roots whatfoever, info- 
much that, as thofe authors affirm, there 
was in the Tielphic temple a radifh made 
of folid gold, to which they paid great 
veneration > and Mofchion, one of the 
mofl: celebrated phyficians amongft the 
GreekSy is faid to have wrote a whole 
volume in its praifes. 

Etymologifts tell us, it is call'd ra- Derhati- 
phanuSy from * Vu(pctviiy a perfpicuous or 
clear root 5 but others, from fevcral / 
words which fignified its quicknefs in 
fpringing, after it is fowed ; and fo the 
learned Stephens and Brown:, in their 
Oxford catalogue of plants, remark. 

Our Herbals take notice of three or 
four fpecies of this root, njiz»-^ the r^- 
phanus fativus vulgarisy or common 
garden radifh j raphanus piriformis five 

* fe'.ipayU, qurXi radix perfpicua. Dh'fcor. lib. lo. 

radice 



192 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

radice nigrdy the black radifh 5 in all 
probability the Spanifl) radifli 5 raphanus 
orbiculatuSy the round rooted radifli 5 
and raphanus niger rotundiore radice, 
round-rooted black radifli 5 perhaps an- 
other fpecies of the Spanijh 5 befides the 
raphanus rufticanuSy or horfe radifli : 
All which are much the fame that gar- 
dens furnifli us with now at this time 5 
tho' the raphanus orbicuIatuSy or round- 
rooted radifli, is not very plentiful in 
England. I had fome of the feed from 
Hollandy about feven or eight years 
ago, and it is indeed a much better 
kind than the common radifli, as lafting 
longer, being much Ihorter, clearer, and 
lefs fubjed to be fticky, and withal not 
fo hot in the mouth 5 they are of the 
fhape of turneps, and may be eaten raw, 
as well as they or indifferent apples arc, 
and by fome call'd Hanover radiflics, in 
allufion to its turnep fliape, 
virtues Notwitlifl:anding what has been before 
■and vices, f^jj jj^^j^ vittucs, Hippocratcs utterr 
ly condemns them as vitiofe innatantes 
ac agre concoEiilesy and fome call them 
cibus illiberaliSy fitter rather for* ruftics 
than gentlemens tables 5 that befides, it 
decays the teeth> is hard to digeft, and 

inimicous 



The TraBical Kitchm Gardiner. 1 9 5 

inimicous to the ftomach, caufing (as 
Mr. Evelyn has it) naufeous eriidati- 
ons, and fometimcs vomiting, tho* other- 
wife diuretic, and fuppofed of quality 
to repel the vapours of wine after hard 
drinking. T>iofcorides and GaleUj a- 
mongfl: the antient phyficians, differ a- 
bbut their eating, one prefcribes it be> 
fore meals, the latter after 5 and fonie 
(fays our elaborate author) macerate the 
young roots in warm milk, to make them 
more nourifhing. 

The raphamis nijlicanu^y or horfe ra- 
difh, is well known to be of a much 
hotter quality, and tho* not fo friendly 
to the head and eyes, yet is an excel- 
lent antifcorbutic, and a good flomatic^ 
and on that account an excellent ingre- 
dient in the compofition of muftard, as 
arc ail the thin fhavings in cold faliets, 
cfpecially in winter. But Mr. Evelyn 
affures us, that by the following ufe of it, 
it is the mod excellent and univerfai 
condiment* 

Take (fays he) horfe radifh whilft new- 
ly drawn out of the earth, otherwife 
laid to fteep in w^ater a competent time, 
then grate it on a grater which has no 
bottom, that fo it may pafs thro' it like 
O a mu- 



194 The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner '. 

a mucilage, into a dirti of earthen ware, 
this tcmper'd with vinegar, in which a 
little fiigar has been diflblv'd, you may 
have a fauce fupplying muftard to a fal- 
let, or any other occafion. 

Of the Spafiifh radifh there are two 
forts, white and black, which fliced arc 
eat raw, with vinegar, oil, &c. by the 
T>utcb. 

Offomng All the afore-mention'd roots, except 
and cui- the horfe radifh are rais'd by feed, the 
main crop of which is well known to 
be fow'd with carrots, parfnips, (^c, in 
March , but the radifh is a root fo much 
ufed, efpecially in great families, and 
by the lower part of them, that they 
may be raifed for them to eat every 
month in the year, and as they are apt 
to run to feed, you fhould be fowing 
them every fortnight, at moft, efpeci- 
ally durmg the fpring, fummer, and au- 
tumn feafons ; and the little round tur- 
nep-rooted radifh is fo foft and harmlefs, 
that it will fuit the weakeft ftomachs in 
any feafon of the year, being to be eat 
like an apple. 

The other chief feafons for the fow- 
ing this and all the other, but the black 
Spanif) radifh, (which is fow'd but once 

a year,) 



The "FraEiical Kitchen Gardiner, 

a year,) are in the months of Aprils 
Mayy Juney July and Auguft, all on 
natural ground, but a little fhady in the 
three laft months, but what you have 
after muft be fowed once a month, on 
hot-beds, and efpecially in January and 
February, when early carrots, lettuce, 
and other things are fown. 

There are indeed fome that are fown 
in July and Auguft^ at the fame time 
and amongft thofe that are called Mi- 
chaelmas carrots 5 but they are hardifh^ 
and apt to be fticky and wormy, after 
they have flood fome time 5 and fo are 
only fit for ruftics, and hard labouring 
perfons, whofe digeftion is much ftronger 
than gentlemens, ladies, (^c, are. 

The horfc radifh is fo well known 
to grow from almoft any bit of a cut- 
ting or flip, that I need not wafle time 
in fctting it down, 



O2 



S5CT. 



196 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner- 



■criginat 



SEC T. IV. CHAP. XXXVII. 

Of the ScotzonQTTi Hifpanica, and com- 
mon fdjify, 

o,-Spr.nifh T-^H E Scorz^onerd (by original a Sfa-^ 
niard } h2is of late met with great 
entertainiTient at the tables of the curi- 
ous 5 as has alfo another of the fame 
kind, tho' of Icfs note, the common faf- 
jfifee or falfify, which is likcwiffc culti- 
vated in the fame manner. 

The Scorzonera has its narrie from 
^ viper 01* ierpent, called i\\ Spain S cor- 
2;^^ •'^i' -which reafon alfo it has with 
us in England (as our oft-quoted her- 
barifls tell us) die name of vipers- gmfs, 
from its^ eificacy agaii^ft t4ie veridffn of 
vipers or ferpents. 

Gerard and Varkinfon have giv^n the 
figures and defcriptions of two kinds 
only, which are undoubtedly the fame 
we have now in ufe, viz. the Scorzo- 
nera Hifpanicay or Scorzonera major 

, 1* Scc^-7^nera nomen ell' Htipaniciim a fcorzo vipera, 
vel ferpeiite Icorzone, quiE eadein eii ac viperina a 
quod contra viperarum ac rerpentiim venena ell efficax. 
CaiuL Eort. Bi'tan, Qson. 1 68. 

2 pannonica 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 197 

panmnica latif^ or common Sfmnifh vi- 
pers grafs 3 the other kind is Scarzonera 
humilis Utifolia^ dwarf vipers graft \ 
whether the other kind that goes by the 
title of Scorzonera Hifpanica^ be the 
fame or another kind than that before- 
mentioned, is to me unknown. 

Monf. T^e la ^intinye gives an ac- 0/ tie- 
count of two kinds, which were in his 
time cultivated in France^ under the 
names of Scorzonera and faffify ; it is 
(as that curious obferver of vegetables 
affures us) admirable good, both for the 
pleafure of the tafte, and the health of 
the body, (food) being either boii'd v/ith 
chicken, with afparagus, fliced and fried 
in pancakes, or baked in pies amongft 
other meat, affording a very excellent 
nourifhment, the laft not much unlike 
the bottom of an artichoke, far beyond 
any root that the garden affords. 

It is rais'd not only by feed fow'd in Propngn^ 
March, when carrots and other feeds'"'? ''^''^ 

culture, 

are fown, but in beds by it felf 5 it muft 
be fown pretty thin, or weeded and 
howed, in order to give room for the 
root to enlarge it felf ; but fix or eight 
inches will be diftance enough, the root 
not being fubiecl to wax big 5 it is good 
O 3 to 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

to water it in order to make it grofs, 
and it fliould have the bcft and richeft 
foil you can fow it in. 

Mr. E'velyn gives three particular 
names to this plant, viz, TragopogoUy 
Scorzonera and Saljifeay medicinal and 
excellent againft the palpitation of the 
heart, faintings, obftrudion of the bow- 
els, &c, are befides a very fweet and 
pleafant fallet, being laid to foak out 
the bitternefs, and then peel'd, may be 
eaten raw, or condited, but beft of all 
ftcw'd with marrow, fpice, wine, ^c. 
as artichokes and skirrets are, diced or 
whole. They may (fays he) alfo bake, 
fry or boil them , a more excellent root 
is hardly growing. 

Mr. Mortimer talks alfo of another 
common fort that is multiply'd by feed, 
which is almoft in all things like to 
Scorzonera:, except its colour, which is 
alfo grey, or of a very long oval figure, 
as if it were fo many cods, all over 
ftreaked, and as it were engraven in the 
fpaces between the ftreaks, which are 
pretty fharp-pointed towards the end. 

Mr. De la ^mtinye fays of this com- 
mon fort, that it is cultivated after the 
fame manner as the preceding one, but 

that 



The Tra£iical Kitchen Gardiner, 



199 



that it is not altogether fo very excel- 
lent 5 they eafily pafs the winter in the 
ground 5 that it is good to water both 
kinds in very dry weather, and to keep 
them well weeded 5 and efpecially to 
put them in good earth well prepared, 
of full two foot deep at leaft : All thefe 
diredions we have obferved, but find 
that by keeping them in the ground all 
the winter, they are apt to grow a little 
fticky in the fpring ; wherefore it may 
be better to take them up fome time in 
OSiober or November:, and keep them in 
fand, a3 you do other culinary roots. 

SECT. IV. CHAP. XXXVIIL 
Of the turnep. 



'HE turnep, rapunij altho' it is fb 



\ common, and fo well known a 
root, muft not be omitted in this ac- 
count of kitchen vegetables, as it docs 
indeed furnilh it in as confpicuous a 
manner as any other herb or root yet 
named. 

The skill'd in botany remark, thzt Derhati- 
the turnep is call'd by the Latins/"^' 




O 4 



200 The Tra5iical Kitchen Gardiner, 

^ rapumy OMraupum, bccaufe it grows 
above ground, as Varro tcilitics , and 
in like manner preVo^, from the Greek 
of Athenaus'^ but as Diofcorides inti- 
mates, it is from yoyyvXog, tile orbicular 
or rotund figure of the root. 

Tho' there were in Tliny\ time no lefs 
than fix forts of turneps, and of feveral co- 
lours, fome whereof were fufpeded to be 
artificial; we have not above three or four 
that our books fpeak of, or that are cultiva- 
ted in our gardens 5 and they are the rapiim 
hiteiimj or yellow turnep 5 the rapum 
rubrtm, or red turnep; both of them to 
be found, j?>. 2 3 1. of Gerard:, and p. 508. 
of 1:^arkinfGn ; to which they add the 
rapum majtis^ and raptm radice oblongo, 
the large turnep, and the longeft rooted 
turnep ; both in j^>. 2 3 3. of Gerard, and 
509. of Tarkinjorij aforefaid. 

The yellow turnep is generally pre- 
ferr'd before any of the reil, as being 
lefs watery, and confcquently more nou- 
rifhing , but others prefer the red Bo- 
kemiariy before the yellow, being fweeter 

* Rapum quail raupum quod e terra eruatur. P^arrani, 
lib. 4.. ling. Lat. At verifimilias a. Gra?co. ^ic7:^(,. Atha- 
'^jikusy ULi^ cap.z. VoyyvX-Ji. DiofcorideSy lib-. 2. cnp. it^^. 
A rotunda .crbicularive-radieis figura. Hort. Oxm- 156. 

and 



The TrM'fkal Kitchen Gardiner. 201 



and icfs mealy 5 but the Napus (by the 
French cail'd the Navew) is ccrtdinly 
the niofl delicate of them all, and the 
moft nourifning, as Mr. Evelyn teftifies ; 
the large kind are only fit for a large 
family, or for fheep. 

Turneps are propagated at fcveral 
different times of the year, tho' they 
are not equally good at one time, as 
they are at another 5 the firit time of 
yonr fowing fliould be after the firfl fine 
fhowers that fall in Aprils in order to 
have little turnep roots in the fummer 
to mix with your carrots, while they 
are yet young and fmall, they make a 
pretty figure in the diili amongfl the red 
and yellow carrots, tho' in truth there 
is little to be depended upon them as 
to a large family 5 however, this fow- 
ing muft not be omitted, as mull not 
others fome time in May^ June and Ju- 
ly all which fowings ihould be in the 
decreafe of the moon, according to the 
general opinion of gardiners, who have 
it from experience , notwithftanding they 
rejo^ it in many inftances that the an- 
tients approved in 5 but thefe are to 
be only a few, about three or four rod 
at a tiime^ for divctfity as before. Thofe 

* fown 



zaz The TraBtml Kitchen Gardiner. 

(own in the fummer months, ought to 
be in an old orchard in the fliade under 
fome trees, where there is a little glim- 
mering of the fun, fo as the whole may 
not be excluded. 

The laft, and which is indeed the 
main fowing, is from the beginning or 
middle of Jtifyy to the middle or (as 
the autumns have lately happened), the 
latter end Augufl \ for then the roots 
will have time to fix before the winter 
comes on 5 it is beft for them to take 
the firft frofts that happen in the be- 
ginning of winter, for that makes them 
cat the fweetcr, better, and lefs rank, 
fummer turneps that have never taken 
the froft, being known by experience 
not to eat fo well as thofe that have. 
Little need be added, as to the putting 
them in fand, which fhould be doue to- 
wards the latter end of Novembery be- 
fore the hard frofts come. 

Sandy ground is well known to be 
the beft for turneps , but if that can't 
be had, any ground that is freft, and 
new broke up, tho' never fo poor, is 
beft ; but turneps, however plain a root 
they are, are very nice in their goodnefs, 
and difficult as to what foil they prove 
beft in. * There 



/ 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 205 

There is a black fly that always faf- 
tens upon them, and eats the feed-leaves 
in their firft coming up in the fummcr- 
time, which fpoils that crop entirely, if 
not prevented 5 fome have fap or femi- 
nated foot out of the chimney, wood- 
afhes, and the like 5 but where planta- 
tions of this kind are large, it is there 
impoflible to procure quantities enough 
of fuch ftrowings : It is better therefore 
to get fome of the ftrongeft quick lime 
you can, and flack it into powder, which 
you may fow in the ground with afiured 
luccefs, as I have experienced ; three or 
four bufnels will ferve an acre very 
well, and lefs where there is a fcarcity 5 
it will burn up all the flics, and will 
have this other good effect, the mellow- 
ing and enriching the ground in a man- 
ner proper enough for turneps^ 

The manner of howing of them is 
to fet them about fix inches afunder. 
This is now done by fevcrai men who 
make it their particular bufinefs and em- 
ploy, for a crown an acre, in feveral 
parts of the Wefl:, and other countries, 
where they raife them in great abun- 
dance, for their Iheep and other ufes. 



Befide^ 



204 The Practical Kitchen Gardiner, 

Bcfidcs the advantages that turneps 
bring in fhcep, in the Weft, and o- 
ther countries, and for blacic cattle in 
Norfolk^ they make an excellent bread, 
fome of which 1 remember to have eaten 
about the years 1696, and 97, when 
wheat fold for eight, nine or ten (hil- 
lings per bulhel. The receipt was pre- 
fented to the Royal Society, by a wor- 
thy gentleman, and is as follows. 

* Let the turneps be firft peerd,and boird 
in water till ibft and tender, then ftrong- 
ly prefling out the juice, mix them to- 
gether (when dry let them be beaten or 
pounded very fine) with their own weight 
of wheat meal 5 feafon it as you do o- 
ther bread, and knead it up, then let- 
ting the dough remain a little to fer- 
ment, fafliion the paile into loaves, and 
bake it like common bread. 

I Hiy of it, from experience, that it 
eats heavy, but is a moid good food. 
The roafting them under embers in a 
paper, and eating them with fugar (I ra- 
ther fay fait and butter) is a delicious 
way, a little pepper being mix'd with 
the fait. 

* mhf, Tranf. Vol XVII. num. 205. /. 970. 

SECT. 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 



SECT. IV. CHAP. XXXIX. 
Of the oniony garlicky roccamboy &c. 

THE onion, cepay fo caird from fc- 
veral Greek words that import 
tiieir ofFenfivenefs to the eyes, qiiod ecu- 
torum tunicam, &c. contrahique cogaty 
lachrymas eliciendo. The Oxford cata- 
logue fays it is a root of that great an- 
tiquity, and held in fo great efteem by 
the antients, that they were faid to be 
deified in Egypt ^ (and Juvenal alfo 
iS*^. 15, calls them a holy nation) that 
had their gods growing even in their 
gardens , but Herodotus fays truly of it, 
that there was ninety tun of gold fpent 
in that root whilft the pyramids were 
building, as Mr. Evelyn alfo obferves, 
in \^^'Acetarta, 

Of kin to the onion, is pommy the 
leek 5 fo term'd^ zs Bauhinus ^2.ySy quod 
porro eaty longe lateque grajfetur. And 
unto the fame clafs alfo may be reduced 
alUiimy the garlick 5 qiiod ob ifigratam 
redo'ientiam it a dicitury as our two learn- 
ed etymologifts, Stephens and Bro'Uo77y 

have 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner . 

have it ; tho' * Mr. Ray differs from 
them. From all which fpring the for- 
rum fectiky or tranfplanted leek^ the 
efchallots, [afcalonitides) ab afcalone ju- 
dea oppido iibi maxime nafcuntury as Stra- 
bo witneffes ; but which is yet of a mild- 
er and more delicate nature, the roccam- 
bo, call'd by Mr. T>e la ^iintinyey Spa- 
nijlj garlick. 

The Englijh Herbals place all thefe 
fcveral kinds under the different appel- 
lations abovemcntioned, tho' they plain- 
ly belong to one and the fame clafsj 
and accordingly I fliall confider them. 
Of the onion, the cepa alba, rubra and 
Hifpanicdy are defcrib*d by Gerard, p. 1 69. 
and by Tarkinfon, p. 512. and the por- 
rim, or porrum capitatuniy headed leeks 5 
as alfo the French leek, the porrum viti- 
gtneum, the efchallots, or afcalonitides^ 
but the roccambo, or Spanijh garlick, a 
kind fomething differing from any of 
thefe before-mentioned ; is not fo much 
as mention d in any of our books of 
plants that I have feen, and therefore 
may be fuppos'd to be brought from. 

* Allium garlick quod exfiliendo crefcat. Raii Hifi- 
ef plants, lib. zi. chap. 5. p. 1 125. 

^ Spainy 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 207 

Spairiy which was certainly its native 
country not long ago 5 but Varro (in his 
Geoponicksj as T>elacampius in his re- 
marks on Tliny, lib. 20.) fays, that if 
they are drefsd and eaten with fait and 
vinegar, they effedually deftroy worms> 
cap, 5 . Which from the little fmall cloves 
that are in the head, and are like fo 
many little bulbs, I call allium Hifpani- 
cum bulbiferum. There are included like- 
wife in this account I have given of oni- 
ons, &c. what we call chibouls, or by 
fome fcallions 5 which arc only a dege- 
nerate onion, that will never head, of 
which nature (as one elegantly expreifes 
it) has as it were mifcarried 5 they pro- 
duce upright fhoots and a great deal of 
green, but no bulb 5 the feeds are fo 
like the onion, that it's hard to diftin- 
guifh one from the other. Thefc are ge- 
nerally planted out of the feed-bed at 
about fix or eight inches afunder, in 
fome fliady border, where they will 
ferve the common ufes of the boiler all 
the fummer, and, if they don't feed, the 
winter too ; but they ihould be fowed 

»or planted thin, and water d, for the rca- 
fons that other herbs and bulbs of thefe 
kinds arCo 

To 



208 



The TraBkal Kitchtn Gardiner. 



To the aforegoing kitchen buibs, may 
be added r/^'^J, one of the prettieft little 
kind of onion or permanent gariick, or 
rattk-icek> that our gardens arc furnifh'd 
with 5 it is the true porrum fativttm jun* 
cifolmm of Cafper Baiihimis\ and the 
fch£noprafmoi Gerard y as Mr. in 
his Hiftory of Tlants, affures us. The 
ufcs and virtues of it (tho' not in lb great 
a degree) are^hc fame with the other 
kinds; and it is propagated by parting 
or flipping, as Will be more fully re- 
lated. 

Of fh£ ' Thofe who have wrote of tlie virtues 
virtues e/ iind vices of onions, drc. teii us, that 
<'^^^ons. ^1^^ {2imz time that they are olfcnfivc 
to the eyes, they raife the appetite, : cor- 
roborate the ftomach, cut phlegm, and 
profit the adhmatical ; and that as to 
their obnoxioufnefs to tiie fight, it is 
imputable only to the vapour arifing 
from the raw onion when peel'd 5 which 
fonie on the contrary commend for its 
purging and quickning of that fenfe. 
Hov/ many ways they are ufcd in pot- 
tage, boil'd in milk, ftew'd, <^c. con- 
cerns the ingenious cook, and need not 
be taken, notice of here. In Italy (fays 
my oft-quoted author) they frequently 

make 



T^he Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, zog 

make a fallct of fcallions, cives and chi- 
bouls, with oil and pepper j and an ho- 
ned laborious countryman there, with 
good bread, fait, and a little parfley, 
will m.ake a contented meal with a roaft- 
ed onion. And the fame may be faid 
of France, Spain, Holland-, &c. where 
meat is not fo much efteemed. 

The virtues of garlick (much ranker 
than the onion) is fuperlatively greater, 
giving a kind relifh to every thing where 
it is ufed, corroborating the fiomach, 
and cutting the phlegm; and in fliort, 
aduating and difcovering it felf in all 
the ofEces of life, health and llrength; 
being the moll excellent pcdoral that 
grows in the garden ; and faid to be ve- 
ry efficacious in all conjugal perform- 
ances. An antient gentleman, who 
had well experienc'd the truth of this, 
faid, he ufed to eat plentifully of the 
cloves of garlick with roaft mutton 
and gravy fauce, that he might propa- 
gate his fpecies till he was fourfcore 
years of age. To come to fad, a gen- 
tleman, a neighbour too, and that ufed 
to frequent the agreeable ihades of Wood- 
flock-, (now Blenheim) arrived to near an 
hundred and twenty years of age, with- 

P out 



210 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

out any other phyfick, or extraordinary 
diet, than that of roafted garlick, which 
he did under the embers, and fo eat it 
with butter and fait. But then indeed, 
thofe that fo eat ought as it were to ex- 
chide and divert: themfelves from the 
world, and all human fociety, at leafl: 
for a time. 

Of leeks. Having faid fo much of the proper- 
their pro- ^-j^g ouions and garlick, I need fay 
%[T^and little of leeks, efchallots, chibouls, roc- 
i^ad' cambo, all of them participating, in a 
great degree, of the virtues and pro- 
lifick properties that the aforegoing herbs 
and roots do 5 nor need I expatiate how 
folemnly the antient Britons wear them 
on the firfl: of Marchy as enfigns of the 
refped they pay to the honour of their 
antient hero ; becaufe they are, when 
boird, of much greater benefit to the 
pulmonaria or lungs, in all afthmatical 
cafes. And it is fomewhcre reported, 
. that the orators of old, fuch as Cato, 
Ttilly, and the like, never went to the 
bar on any long harangue, or folemn 
debate, till they had eaten good fl:ore 
of the boil'd leek. But not to dwell 
too long on the properties, it is time we 
eome to the feafons and manner of raif- 
ing thefe ufeful bulbs. Onions 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. % \ i 



Onions are rais'd from feeds ^o^'Aof timr 
at feveral times of the year, in order to 
have them always as yomig as you can 5 ture. 
the firft is towards the middle or latter 
end of Januaryy or the beginning of 
February y on an old hot- bed, when yon 
fow for young carrots, radiflies, lettuce, 
C^r. but of thefe a bed three foot wide, 
and fix or eiglit foot long, is fufficient y 
the next, and which is indeed the chief 
fowing of all, is in Marchj when you 
ought to have at leaft twenty or thirty 
rood, for a large family, there being no 
root call'd for fo much as onions are 5 
they delight in the richeft and moft 
dungy foil you can fow them in, love to 
be kept clean from weeds, and in order 
to have them large, fiiould be well wa- 
tered, which I am told, in AndalufiUy 
(a confiderable province of Spain, where 
they have great quantities) they do by 
overflowing large trads and iieJds of oni- 
ons with water, as we do our meadovv^s 
in England':, and on thefe kinds of lands, 
in all probability, we might procure ex- 
traordinary large ones here, as fome ex- 
perience likewife confirms. 

Some other fo wings may be made in 
fnady places, once a month, all the fum- 
P 2 mer^ 



21 z ne Tra£tical Kitchen Gardiner, 

mer, to have a few that are green and 
young. But there is another fowing 
which the gardiners efteem very much 
of, inafmuch as it furnifhes tiiem with 
young green onions all the winter, and 
till fpring comes, and even then till the 
middle of April, till thofe fowed in 
January or February come in to fupply 
themj thefe are call'd Michaelmas oni- 
ons, and are fow'd at the fame time 
that the Michaelmas carrots are, about 
the middle of July 5 and in all mild fea- 
fons, the beginning of Auguft will be 
foon enough. 

For onions, efpecially the main crop, 
the befi: way to make them head well, 
is to draw a heavy roller over them, 
which breaking or bending the ftalks 
and greens, flops the fap in its afcent, 
and difpofes the bulb to fwell the larger. 
The leekf Leeks are fown at the fame time that 
its time ^/the main crops of onions are ; and you 
jom?i^. muft tranfplant them out in the months 
of July or Augufi, in moift weather, 
about fix inches afunder, in beds where 
you intend they fhall ftand all the win- 
ter. They ihould be planted three or 
four inches deep, and fome there are 
that plant them in fingle rows in trenches, 

or 



/ 

The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 1 1 3 



or fo as that they may be earth'd up 
with fine earth or fand, or covered with 
long dung, to make them white, which 
is of great ufe, and looks beautiful in 
foops or pottage. And otherS;, as Mr. 
Laijuder has advifed, carry them in- 
to the green-houfe or confervatory, to 
have them ready all the winter, in the 
hardeft weather. Some of the largefl: and 
befl: may remain, and be left {landing 
in thofe -beds ail the winter, in order 
to feed the next year, which they will 
do plentifully. 

Shallots, gar lick, roccambo and cives, 
are all propagated by dividing the cloves 
or bulb, whereof there are many in one 
years ftanding, as there are of tulips i 
but roccambo is eafily propagated by 
planting or fowing the cloves, bulbs or 
feeds, call them which you will, in 
March. A finer plant the garden does 
not produce, for all ufes where efchallots 
or garlick are ufed 5 which concludes all 
I have to fet down as to efculent roots, 
bulbs, ^c. 



SECT. 




214- 



^he TraEtkal Kitchen Gardiner, 



SECT. IV. CHAP. XL. 



Of the skirret. 




H E skirret, fifartm, (fays Mr, Eve- 



lyn) is hot and moift, corrobo- 
rating and good for the ftomach, ex- 
ceeding nourifhing, wholefome and deli- 
cate, and of all the root-kind not fub- 
jeft to be windy, and fo valued by the 
Emperor Tiberiu.fy that he accepted them 
for a tribute, and to be conveyed to him 
yearly from Galduba caftle on the Rhine y 
as Tlinjfy {lib. i6. cap. 5.) and others re- 
port. 

Etymologifts don't tell us why it is fo 
caird, tho' it is a root that Tliny and 
moft of the antients have made mention 
of 5 neither has time or experience 
brought any other to our knowledge 
but the one kind mentioned by Gerard^ 
p. 1026. and by Tarkinfon, p. 945- under 
the name of Jifaruniy or Jijarum vulgarCy 
common skirrets. 

If the fifer of 7Uny be the Jifarum 
"/here mentioned, as it feems to be, it 
has, according to that author, all the 
good qualities that can polTibly be found 



m 



The TraSiical Kitchen Gardiner. 2 r 5 

in a root. ^TJelacampiuSy from 'Diofco- 
rideSj in his notes on book 20. cap, 5. 
fays of it, that it is pleafant to the tafle, 
good for the flomach, provokes urine, 
and creates appetite, (b'C. but is a lit- 
tle windy. Mr. Evelyn tells us alfo, 
that this excellent root is feldom eaten 
raw, but being boird, flew'd, roafted un- 
der embers, bak'd in pies, whole, fliced, 
or in pulp, is agreeable to all palates. 
And Hieronymus Heroldus fays, that the 
women in Swevia prepare the roots for 
their husbands, and know full well why 
and wherefore. 

The skirret is raifed, both by kcAo/thege' 
and ofF-fets ; the former method is ufed JJ^^^ ^^^f 
where we are not polTeiled of the fpe« ^.^^7^7;^^ 
cies j but the latter method is the beft, skin-ets, 
inafmuch as they extend themfelves in- 
to feveral parts in one fummer, the 
young roots being for tranfplanting, and 
the old ones, at leaft thofe that are the 
largeft, and towards the middle, for eat- 
ing. 

The feeds of the skirret are to be fown ofraifmg 
m February ox. Match, in a bed of ^ood^^'^rretshj 
rich mold, three or four foot wide, and^'"^' 
the feed being well raked in, and co- 
vered over with fine fifted mold, give it 
P 4 a gentle 



1 1 6 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 



a gentle watering or two, except it rains, 
and being come up, which it will in a- 
bout three weeks time, keep it ftill clear 
of weeds, and now and then a gentle 
watering, in the manner as will be 
taught in the chapter of watering fal- 
lets 5 and being kept well weeded, they 
will be fit to plant out about the begin- 
ning or middle of May^ which may be 
done with fuccefs by the method that 
will be by and by fet down for ofF- 
fets. 

Of propa- The bePt way, as has been before in- 
^kirntsb ^^^^^^^^^ ^^c propagating skirrets, is 
^off-fets. by ofF-fets, which are taken up in March^ 
and the ofF-fets being parted from the 
old roots, and as many parts made of 
them, as there are flips that have roots 
to them, not letting any of the old ones 
remain, but only the freih fpringing fi- 
bres j you are to drill with a large hoe 
of four or five inches deep, and if the 
ground is in any degree poor, put fome 
melon mold into it, and plant them five 
inches afunder^ for if you plant them 
too thick, or above one flip in a place, 
they are fo apt to encreafe, that they 
will ftarveone another; then keep them 
well watered till their roots be full 

^rown, 

I 



The TraBtcal Kitchen Gardiner. 



217 



grown. There fhould be frefh earth of- 
ten laid upon them, to prevent the 
canker that is apt to infeft themj and 
as you want to ufe them, take them 
frefh out of the ground. 

Some there are that recommend a 
black moory land, as does Mr. Bradley^ 
but whatever I have obferved of them 
is, that they love any fandy, loofe, rich 
foil, be it either black, reddifh or yel- 
low 5 and withal I find that a little fhade 
is very agreeable to them, if it be near 
or under the trees of any old garden or 
orchard, where fome of the glimmer- 
ings of the fun may have entrance. 

SECT. III. CHAP. XLI. 

Of the potatoes or battata. 



HE potatoe is another of the fifer 



jL or fifarum kind, cail'd by fome 
the fifarum ^eruvianum, or skirrets of 
Pm/, whofe nutriment being as it were 
between flefh and fruit, are of mighty 
nourifhing parts, and flrengthen nature 
to a great degree, having been long the 
common food of the Spaniards, Itali- 
ans ^ Indians J and many other nations. 




As 



2 1 s The TraBhal Kitchen Gardiner. 



Potatoes, As to its original appellation, I find 
^7?mi T footfteps of it in any book I have 
^^eUation' ^^^^ 5 and for its kind, we find but one 
which paffeth under this name, and that 
is called Jifarum Teruvianum, five bat- 
tat a Hifpanorumy Ger, 925. which is 
figured but with one root ; which makes 
beyond difpute that it is not the fame 
that is cultivated with us 5 but that the 
next that follows in that laborious au- 
thor is that which is entitled, hattata 
Virginiana five Virginianornm, Ger. 927. 
Virginian potatoes, called alfo by the 
Indians, pappus. This kind Bauhinus 
has referf d to the folanums, and calls 
it, folanum tuberofum efculentum, in his 
^redromus, p. 89. but Clufius queftions 
whether it be not the arachidna of Theo- 
fhrafius $ but however that be, the laft 
is the kind that is propagated by the 
Irijhy and from them, in a great mea- 
fure, by us here in England, and whicii 
affords fome of tlie wholfomeft nou- 
rifhment of any root the garden pro- 
duces 5 tho* there are others, it muft be 
confefs d, of a fuperlative nature, fuch 
as the afore-mention d skirret, and con- 
fequently fitter for the tables of the great 
than potatoes are. 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 2 1 9 

They are rais'd, as is well known, by How raif- 
their ofF-fets, which are generally very ^^'^^^^^^ 
numerous. They love a fandy rich io\\/them[ 
or indeed any foil that is rich ; though 
they will grow in poor, worn-out land, 
but not fo large. The ofF-fets are plant- 
ed at about one foot afunder, in rows 
or furrows made with a hoe, or a dib- 
ber or fetting-ftick. The great produce 
and profit that arifes from thefe roots, 
caufe many fields in and about London-, 
and the Weft-, to be planted with them, 
as well as in Ireland:, where they are 
the fole food of many of the natives. 
But I am alfo told that they are excel- 
lent food for fox-hounds, and others 5 
which if true may fave a great quantity 
of oatmeal, that is very expcnfive ; but 
doubtlefs, when they are boil'd and 
bruised to pieces in the liquor where the 
meat of great families is, it would be 
of much greater importance and nou- 
rifliment to the poor, which too often 
want (to the fhame of great perfonages 
be it fpoken) that which dogs eat. 

After they are drilFd in, which fhould 
be fome time in March., or beginning 
of Afnl:, they fhould be howed and kept 

clean 



220 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 



clean of weeds. As little care as pofll- 
ble preferves this very ufeful root. 



Their dp- T" EgLimcs, thc legimitia of ServilitiSy 



hend all thofe kinds of pulfe that grow 
in a kitchen garden in fhells or cods 5 and 
are every day, when in feafon, gather'd 
by hand for the ufe of the table 5 be- 
ing, as fome authors tell us, fo caird 
from lego, or rather legendo {quod manu 
legantur , ) in confequence to which 
Varro calls a gatherer of peafe, beans, 
grapes and other fmall things, leguluSy 
as it feems to have its derivation from 
the fame root. Agreeable to which al- 
fo, is that of Screvelius, in his Thefauro 
Grac£ LingU£y who deduces legumen 
and legumentum from the fame extrac- 
tion of x^^f^4'y xil^oTTcv-, making a-vX- 
Xoyzc^g, kgulus, to be a gatherer of le- 
gumes. 

Of the Of legumes there are but three diftin£^ 
kinds of genus's that are reduceable to this head^ 



SECT. V. 



CHAP. XLII. 



Of legumes, as peafe, beans, &e. 




The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner] 



22t 



wz. the faba hortenjts alba ^ nibray 
Gerard J p. 1029. TarkinfoUy /. 521. 
with fome other kinds, which will be 
mentiond in their proper places. The 
jphafeolus of divers kinds, viz. the whitC;, 
red, black, and party-colour'd kidney- 
beans 5 but the moft numerous of all 
the legumes, is the piftm, or garden 
peafe, fo call'd, as Mr. Ray fets down, 
from * 7ifa, an ifland or country fituate 
between OJfa and Olympus ^ where they 
grew in great abundance 5 all which dif- 
fer from one another either in the fize, 
fhape, growth, or colour of their haulm, 
cods, ^c. or in their earlinefs or late- 
nefs of ripening. 

All thefe legumes (except the phafeo- Sr^o?! of 
/us) are good ruftical hardy plants, ^LadM^^^^s- 
may be fown in the open ground, with- 
out needing any other culture than be- 
ing howed, weeded, and earth'd, whilft 
they are young, and before they begin 
to burnifh and cod. 

To the general culture of peafe, beans, 0/ the 
&c, may be added alfo that of the foil/'^^^' 
fituation and afpcd, which tho' they of- 

* Pifmn a Pifa qu?5 inter OlTam & Olympum copiofilii- 
me nafcicur. Raii Hi/}. Flavt. lib, i 8- r.-//. z, p. S90. 

ten 



222 The Tra5iical Kitchen Gardiner, 

ten grow in open ground, and poor land, 
yet thofe that are admitted into the gar- 
den require (as experience tells) a gene- 
rous foil, and for the firft crop fuch as 
is free from fhade, and under fome 
warm wall, reed-hedge, or other fhel- 
ter 'j all which will be found in its pro- 
per place. 

ofafitua- And fince we have juft now men- 
tion pro- tion'd the fituation, afped or expofure 
|//^{?r&c' P^op^^' legumes, and other garden 
produce, give me leave to hint a little 
at what I judge eligible in this affair : 
The South-Eaft afpeft is certainly the 
beft, becaufe the fun comes the ear- 
lieft thereon, and dries up and expclls 
the mifts and dews j whilft the more 
Eafterly is always fubjcd to cxtream 
blitesj and befides all, the fun leaves it 
too foon. 

The South, or South- Weft afped, is 
not fo good as the former, for the rea- 
fons before hinted at, viz. that of the 
funs not coming fo early on it as it 
does on the others^ but then it ftays 
long thereon, and is good for all thofe 
kinds that are large, and are for a great 
crop, requiring much fun. 



The 



The TraB'tcal Kitchen Gardiner. 225 

The Weft afped will do well enough, 
for all crops in the decline of the year, 
but the North is the beft for all thofe 
legumes that come in in the great heats 
of the fummer; as alfo for all ftraw- 
berries, rasberries, currans, ^c, which 
we would make to hold out late 5 but 
the feveral foils, fituations, ^r. proper 
for a kitchen garden, are more largely 
explain d elfewhere. 

SECT. V. CHAP. XLIII. 
Of the bean. 

ETymologifts are uot clear in the 
account they give us from whence 
the name of faba is derived. The labo- 
rious Brown and Stephens^ editors of the 
Oxford catalogue, pafs it over without 
making one obfervation about it, tho* 
fome didionaries affirm it to be faba^ 
alias habay (as hxdiis and hircus were in 
the antient dialed foedus and fircus) de- 
riving it from the Fabii, a nation or fa- 
mily antiently called Habii, And that 
precept of Pythagoras to his difciples, 
{abjline a fabis) which commanded them 
to abftain from beans, is (as authors re- 
4 late) 



224- T'he TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner, 

late) not to be taken literally, becaufe 
Pythagoras himfelf was an eater of 
beans 5 but was fpoken rather in a 
comparative and myftical fcnfe, forbid- 
ding tliem the ufe of women, from the 
limilitude which beans have to their tef- 
ticular parts, that contribute fo largely 
to veneral embraces. 
Sorts. There are tiiree or four fpecies of 
beans that our Englifh Herbals have ta- 
ken notice of, 'uiz. the faba hortenfis 
alba & rubra, beforc-mention'd j the 
faba veterum five filvef. Grtecorum, Par- 
kinfon, p. 1054. the bean 5 the fa- 

ba veterum ferratis foliiSy the Greek bean 
w^th dented leaves j p, ibid, neither of 
them of any ufe in the kitchen j and 
the faba minor fylvef. the common wild 
bean j of as little ufe as the former : 
But later experience lias difcover'd ma- 
ny more kinds, viz. the hotfpur, Gof 
port or Spanijh, Sandwich, and broad 
H^indfor beans 5 with feveral other kinds. 
Proper- Thofe who have wrote of the virtues 
nes. plants, allow very little to beans 

when they are young and green, being 
cold and moift, affording a kind of 
fpungy fubftance, which how much fo- 
ever boil'd, are neverthelefs -^'mdy. 

4 ?ut 

1' 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner^ 225 

But experience teaches us that they are 
good food with meats of a more fub- 
ftantial nature, and may be faid when 
they are grown older and harder, to 
be the better for it, and to afford a moft 
excellent nourifhment to all who can 
digeft well. 

Beans are planted in many different ^^^7^;^/ ^/ 
feafons and times of the year, as they /^^^^^'^.^^ 
can or ought to be calculated to fupply 
the table in as many different months 
as an induflrious gardincr can poflibly 
procure them to be. 

. In order to have beans, as well Proper 
peafc, in as many fummer months as ^"^^.^ °f ^ 
we can, they ought to be fown at ^li- being 
ferent times, in ground that lies a little perfeaion, 
warm, and if fandy and light, the bet- 
ter ; tho' beans will bear on flrong land, 
and come forward there better than peafe. 
The firft feafon of planting is under a 
warm wall, or reed-hedge, in the mid- 
dle or latter end of OBober 5 and from 
thence you may fow three or four times, 
in about ten or twelve days diftance 
from each other j for if it be veji-y mild 
weather before Chrijlmas, the firft fow- 
ing will grov/ too high to be earth'd up 
fo well as to preferve them all the win- 

ter. 



226 The TraSrical Kitchen Gardiner. 

ter, and then the laft fowed crops will 
be beft, for the reafon I have juft now 
fuggefled 5 but if the weather fliould 
prove very hard, then the firft fowing 
will be beft, and the laft worth little. 

A fecond fowing, both of peafe and 
beans, is under frames, or other covers, 
juft after ChriftmaSy which may be re- 
moved as we do cabbage plants, fome 
time in February j if the weather be o- 
pen and fine, or in the beginning of 
Marchy to make good any that have 
mifcarried in the firft crop, or to plant 
out for an entire new one 5 and thefc 
will come in very near as foon as thofc 
fowed in O^ober 5 for, however ftrange 
it may feem to fome, beans and peafe 
may be tranfplanted with the fame cafe, 
pleafure and certainty, as cabbage plants j 
this the French and Dutch have long 
experienc'd. And it is obfervable, that 
when this is the cafe, they do not run 
fo much to haulm, as when they are on- 
ly fet in the ufual manner, and cod and 
bear much better. 

The next fowing (and which may in- 
deed be continued in fmall quantities, 
for early facceffive crops, once in twelve 
or fifteen days) is about the middle or 

latter 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 227 

ktter end of January, under the beft 
fituatcd borders you have, which will 
lie quiet till the feverity of the weather 
is over, and then peep up and grow a- 
pace 5 and from thefe we often have 
our beft crops, tho' the laft method of 
fowing them under glafs-framcs, and 
then planting them out, is a moft ex- 
cellent way. 

But the greateft feafon of all is about 
a week or ten days after Candlemas ^ or 
in warm foils, about Candlemas-d^y it 
felf 5 for by the time they peep up, the 
feverity of the frofts are going over, 
and it is with them as with all other 
kitchen plants, the lefs they are baulk- 
ed and ftinted by cold weather, the 
better they bear and blow 5 though 
tranfpl anting difpofes them much to 
bear, but that cannot be done in large 
gardens. 

To purfue the thread of thefe inftruc- 
tionsj you are to plant, once in ten, 
or twelve, or fifteen days, a few at a 
time, till the latter end of May, or be- 
ginning of JunCy v^^hich will fupply the 
table all the iummer, autumn, ^c. till 
the froft puts an end to all our endea- 
vours. 

Q^z I might 



22 8 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

I might add a great deal in this chap- 
ter, concerning the methods to be ta- 
ken, in the prefervation and keeping 
of beans; but that will be found more 
particularly treated of in the next chap- 
ter, concerning the method of raifing 
peafe: But I muft not omit one particu- 
lar method of fowing or planting thcfe 
legumes, and which will ferve for peafe 
as well as beans j and that is, the low- 
ing or planting them on thofe ridges 
that are thrown up in mending the 
ground in ^December 5 let tliofe ridges 
be trcnch'd up, and laid in full, or at right 
angles againft the iun, as it fhines in win- 
ter time J or rather early in the fpring, 
in February or March^ at one or two a 
clock ; and the trenches or piked ridges 
being as high as poflible, fow your peafe 
and beans on the funny-fide, about half 
way down the hill or ridge, and then 
that part of the hill or ridge that is on 
the backfide will preferve the peafe and 
beans, whilft young and tender, from 
thofe cutting Eallerly or North-Eaft winds 
that difappoint us fo often in thofe 
months ; and the flope below them will 
draw off the fuperfluous moifturc from 
rotting them, and they will be the eafier 

earth'd 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 

cartli d up. And this method alfo ought 
to be ufcd in cabbage plants. All that 
I fliall fay further upon this head is, that 
howing and earthing up often, during 
the winter feafon, is a great preferver 
of them againft all froils and cold j as 
the topping of them, either with the 
Iheers or ones hand, difpofes them to 
cod the fooner and better 5 to all which, 
planting out when they are young con- 
tributes likewife very much, 

SECT. V. CHAP. XLIV, 
Of garden feafe, 

THE. garden peafe, by the Latins , 
pifumj are accounted by fome the 
moll genuine and whole fome food which 
the garden produces : Hippocrates and 
Galen^ antient writers in botany, alTure 
us they are not fo windy as beans 5 but 
they do not feem to intimate that they 
contain much nourilhment in them > 
however, when young, and gently boil'd, 
they are now very juftly accounted one 
of the greateft delic^icies of the garden. 

They are fo called from the Greek 
\vQrd TTTltro-coy which fignifies their readi- 

3 nefs 



2 30 T:he Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

nefs in fhcliing, barking or bareing, as 
the indadrious and learned BroiiJn and 
StephenshzNc it, p. 144. of their Oxford 
catalogue ; agreeably to which Gerard 
has a kind which he calls, fifum excor- 
ticatum, or peafe without skins, p. 1220. 
Batihinus in Tinace, p. 34^. has pifum 
^ejicarium frufiu nigro alba macula no- 
tato 5 which TarkiTifcn alfo calls, piftim 
cordaitum veficarnm. Other kinds there 
are in the works of the laborious Var- 
kinjon and Gerard^ as the pifum majus 
Jive hortnm, large roncival peafe 5 and 
pifum mirats Jive arvenfe 5 both kinds in 
Gerard:, p. 1219. and !P. G. />. 522. the 
fifmn tmbdlatim Jive rojtum^ Gerard^ 
f \ 1 22c. G. p. 522. the Scotch-, or 
rofe peafe 5 to which are added, the pi- 
fum Jylvejire, and pifum perenne Jylveftre, 
neither of them of much ufe in the gar- 
den. But later experience has difcover d 
almofl: an infinite number of fpecies 
diftind from each other, either in the 
color of their flowers, or fhape, or good- 
nefs of the peafe 5 as Edwards Greens y 
Flanders Barnes ^ long hotlpur peafe ; 
grey, brown, green, white, roncival or 
large peafe, large white, fmall white, 
grey, and dwarf fugar peafe 5 egg, fickle, 

T^utch 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardmer. 2 3 1 

^ittch admiral, winged crown or rofe 
pcafe ; to which may be added, the 
Readin^y SpaniJJoj Morotto, and marrow 
fat peafc, excellent good in their kinds. 

They are to be fown at different lea- Times of 
fons, as beans are, to which chapter y^^^^'^^s- 
refer the reader 3 but the kinds point oat 
their uie, in a great meafure, and at 
what time they Ihould be lowed. The 
early hotfpm' peafe for the foil, fecond 
and third fowings, in OBober, January 
and February ; and ail the other kinds 
at various feafons in March, April and 
May 5 but your commoneft peafe laft of 
all, that they may endure the cold wea- 
ther in the latter feafon the better. 
The marrow-fat, lb called from its ex- 
traordinary marrow-like goodnefs) and 
fugar peafe, are accounted the befl:, as 
the roncivals are the iarseft 5 the dwarf 
pea is a g|[od bearer 5 and the fickle pea 
(fo called trom its crookednefs) may be 
eaten when young, as kidney beans are : 
They all require a good foil 5 but the 
roncival and T)utch admirals would re- 
quire aground that is all dung. The pro- 
per feafon for each kind, with the times 
and method of fowing and preferving 
them is as follows. 

0^4 ' The 



zyz The Tra£tical Kitchen Gardiner. 

The fird that you fow in O&ober and 
January:, fhould be the hotfpur kinds 
only. Tliofe in January, or very early 
in March y the grey, dwarf, egg, fickle, 
and Reading peafe ; and for the general 
crop, about the 8^^^, i o^^, or 1 1^^' of March^ 
the roncivals of all kinds, the marrow- 
fat, fugar pcafe, and T)utch admirals 5 
and for the iaft fowing of all, fome of 
the Reading marrow- fat, but the great- 
eft part of the hardy field peafe; which 
laft fowing fliotild be about Midfummer^ 
in order to have them (as Mr. T)e la 
§^iintinye obferves) about Allhaliovu- 
ride : But in the time and method of 
fowing, I have been fo particular, in 
the chapter concerning beans, that little 
need be added in this place, one and 
the fame feafon for fowing of peafe be- 
ing required, as there is for Dlanting of 
beans. 9 
"Times of To have them all the fummer, there 
^/-'a-/'^''' needs nothing, as experience fhews, but 
" to fow them in different months, in 
ground that lies a little warm and forcing 5 
towards London you may have them in 
the beginning of Alay, and in other 
countries, the latter end of Alay, or the 
beginning of Jtme 5 and fo on, till the 
I lattci: 



The Tradiical Kitchen Gardiner, 233 

latter end of OEiobeYy and in mild fea- 
fons later, if the frofts don t come fo 
foon to defooy them. 

The firft fowing is to be towards the Different 
middle or latter end of OBober, under ^"^^^-^ 
fome warm South wall, where they may 
be fheltcr'd in cafe of fevere frofts 5 great 
is the difappointment of fowing that firft 
crop, which is the rcafon why we do 
all we can to preferve them. Some, 
and amongft the reft Monf. T>e la §iuin- 
tinyey advifes the fleeping them in wa- 
ter for two or three days till they have 
fprouted, to make them com.e up the 
fooncr ; but this does not appear to 
be fo neceflary as at other times when 
great hafte is required, as at the latter 
part of the fumm.er, when we are, by 
fome means or other, obliged to fow 
late, then fteeping is neceftary, to acce- 
lerate theie growth 5 but the fteeping of 
them at fo late a feafon, and when the 
ground is by nature apt to be too wet 
and moift of it felf, is not agreeable to 
that experience I have had in planting : 
But this I leave to the trial of others 
who pafs away much time in curiofitiea 
^nd trials of this nature. 



But 



2 34 The Tra6thal Kitchen Gardiner. 

But to preferve this crop after they 
are firft come up, you are to hoe up the 
earth on each fide of them, fo as that 
the tops may but juft appear above ground, 
which done, and thinking they will not 
grow any more that feafon, lay fome 
fine cole-afhes or fea fand upon the lit- 
tle ridge you have made with your hoe, 
and after th. e, except you have a cover 
made like a hog s back, of reed or bee- 
hive ftraw, lay fome clean wheat-ftraw 
fo as that they may be covered all over > 
and in cafe that any fnow falls, when it 
is over fhake it off, and pull all the 
ftraw away, and then lay on more that is 
clean, and if it's poflible dry the old well 
and then lay it again, becaufe it's the fnow 
that fpoils the peafe and beans as much 
as any thing 5 but when they come to 
grow high, and above the ridge that you 
make with your hoe, it is a kind of 
misfortune that can't be remedied by a- 
ny thing but thofe hog- backed coverings ; 
nor indeed fcarce then neither : for if 
the firft part of the winter has been fo 
mild as to draw them up long, we fhould 
rather be provided againft it by planting 
another crop a fortnight or three weeks 
after, which being iov/ and fnug, and 

covered 



The T radical Kitchen Gardiner. 23s 

covcr'd up by the coal-afhes or fca-fand, 
as before, will be in a furer way of 
ftanding againft the feverities of the win- 
ter than thofe that aix taller, and appear 
ftronger. Mofs, if to be had in quanti- 
ties, is of all others the beft for a good 
preferver of them, the coai-afhes or fea- 
fand being under them, as before-men- 
tioned. 

There is another method that is liked 
well, for the preferving of peafe and 
beans in the winter, and that is the 
trenching in fome long dung, ftraw or 
thatch, into the borders where you in- 
tend to plant or fow peafe or beans, for 
this keeps the ground hollow, and draws 
off all the fuperfiuous moifture that is . 
apt to rot the roots or fibres of peafe 
and other pulfe. 

I muft not omit to acquaint my reader, 
that peafe, as well as beans, will tranf- 
plant in about a month or fix weeks af- 
ter they are fov/n 5 on which account 
it is that you may fow them under frames 
and glaHes early in the month of Ja- 
nuary, and fometimes in February^ if the 
weather be fair, or rather in the begin- 
Bing of March., you may tranfplant them 
out under reed-hedges, or in warm bor- 

ders^ 



2 3<5i* The TraBicd Kitchen Car diner, 

ders, where the foil is good, in order 
to repair any that have failed in the Oc- 
tober fowing, taking care at the lame 
time to earth them up, and cover them 
with clean ftraw, mofs, O'C. whilft they 
have ikuck root. 

SECT. V. CHAP. XLV. 
Of the phafeolus, or kidney bean. 

THE phafeolus^ or kidney bean, is 
the (pit!recA@- of TDiofcorides, or 
fhorter, the odo-yj^®^ of Athenaus, fo 
called from the refemblance the pods 
have to a certain boat or fhip that was 
built (as we find it in Schrevelius) in Tha~ 
feliSy a city of Tamphylia, It is by o- 
thcrs call'd, a-f^l^a^ y.riTrdta, the garden 
fmilaxy [quod caUculis clavicnlarum in- 
fiar proptnquis frtiEiicibus fefe implicat) 
fay the learned Stephens and Brou;ny in 
their Oxford catalogue, p. 740. 

Of this phafeolus there are fcveral fpc- 
cics, that differ from one another in 
colour, tho' generally of the fame fhapc, 
n:iz, the phafeolus albusj or white kid- 
ney bean ; phafeolus niger, or the black 
kidney bean 5 and the phafeolus five fra- 

lax 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gat diner. 



237 



lax hortenjis rubray a red kidney bean ; 
all to be found in Gerard, p. 12 12. 

Gerard has alfo made the fame head 
the fmilax hortenjis flava, or the pale 
kidney bean ; with three or four forts 
of the phafeolus peregrinus, of different 
fizes and colors, which he borrows from 
Clujius j and Bauhiniis in Tin. p. 340. 
adds others, of various colours, under 
the general term or title of, phafeolus 
variegatus diver far um fpecierum, or par- 
ty-colour'd kidney beans, of divers kinds. 
At prefent we chiefly fow and plant the 
old white kind 5 tho'the black, red, yel- 
low and party-colour'd eat very well : 
And of this phafeolus it may be truly 
faid, there are more diverfity of fpecies> 
than of any other garden plant we have 
tranfmitted to us from foreign parts, and 
cndenizon'd in this our feverer climate, 
tho' moft of thefe are kept in lloves and 
other warm places, their tranfportatioa 
and admiflion into this ifland being ge- 
nerally owing to that great lover of 
gardening, the Right Honourable, and 
Right Reverend Dodor Henry Comptony 
fome time fmce Lord Bifhop of London. 

To proceed in the properties of thcPropenies, 
kidney, method of raifing, and the like 5 

thoic 



/ 



238 The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

thofe who have wrote of it fay, that 
the fruit and pods, when boil'd together 
and butter'd, don t engender wind, as 
other pulfes do ; that they give a gentle 
relaxation to the ventricles, provoke 
urine, and create good and laudable 
blood 5 but fhould be eaten whilft they 
are young and green, and tenderly boil'd. 
Raifing. The raifuig this very ufeful legumen to 
the perfedion it now is, has not been 
known (at leaft not pradifed) till of late, 
there having been no other feafon for 
fowing or planting it (fince the time I 
my felf have had experience in garden 
works, which is now about twenty four 
or twenty five years) but only in April 
whereas we now begin fowing them in 
January and February y and fo hold on 
at equal intervals of time, once a month, 
till the latter end of Mayy or beginning 
of June. 

The firft fowing is on the back of 
your frames, or earlieft ridges and hot- 
beds for afparagus, melons or cucum- 
bers, about the middle or latter end of 
January y or beginning of February, 

The manner of fowing and planting 
is fo eafy and fo well known, that I 
need not enlarge upon it 5 but as thefe 

beans 



The Tra£iical Kitchen Gardiner, , 239 

beans will foon come up, if you fow 
them pretty thick, which you ought to 
do 5 they may be pull'd up in the thiclc- 
cft places, and tranfplanted abroad un- 
der fome warm wall, or reed hedge., 
and in fome of the richeft foils you have, 
even between your new-planted peach 
or apricock trees, and giving them the 
fame covering as was allotted for your 
early peafe and beans, you may expeft 
the fame fuccefs, frofty weather being 
the only thing defcrudive to them. 

But to return to thofe that are firfl: 
fow'd at the back of your ridge of me- 
lons, cucumbers, &c, there let them 
ftand till they flower and bear, which 
if fow'd early in January:, will be about 
the middle or latter end of March, at 
which time they make a curious and ex- 
cellent difh. 

The next fowing may be about a 
month after the firft, in the fame man- 
ner as before, taking away all that are 
fuperfluous, and planting them againft 
fome warm wall, and under a good co- 
ver, as before fct down. 

Another fowing may alfo be made 
about the beginning of March, under 
fome good warm wall, or reed hedge, 

in 



240 "the TraBtcal Kitchen Gardiner, 

in the open ground, and fo near the 
hedge that they may (agreeable to their 
own nature) climb up and hold faft of 
it. 

The great fowing of all is in the be- 
ginning of j^prily at which time a more 
ordinary foil, and a much more indif- 
ferent treatment than any yet mention- 
ed, will be fufficient j tho' thus much 
I muft be intimated, that there is no plant 
in the garden requires a finer richer foil 
than kidney beans do 5 which ought to 
deter any body from planting them on 
a ftubborn clay, or on a poor, penurious 
gravelly foil, but only fuch as is in its 
own nature of a generous difpofition, 
or othcrwifc cultivated and improved by 
labour, good foil and dung. 

The two lafc fowinG;s arc in the be- 
ginning of May and Jtmey for thofe 
that are dcfirous of having them laft all^ 
the fummer, and till late in the autumn; 
but there is a large kind that grows al- 
moil as high as hops do, and are fup- 
ported by poles in the fame manner, 
which running up fo very high have a 
fucceffion of new pods always upon 
them, till after MichaelmaSy tho' fowed 
in April ; this kind I fome years ago 

procured 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner.' 241 

proGur d from Holland^ and are now to 
be had in many places, particularly at a 
place to which I firfl fent them, I mean 
the Lord Coningsbfs at Hawpton-Court 
in Herefordshire, 

The manner of fowing, or rather 
planting kidney beans, is two ways, 
either in drills as we do peafe, or in 
round hills as we do hops, and the laft 
is the beft way for the large kind juft 
mentioned 5 be it which you will, they 
ought to be fet in fair weather, and 
when the earth is dried, or they will 
be apt to rot on account of the thin- 
nefs of their skins : For which reafon 
it is well to open the holes or drills to 
lay them drying, in all dry, windy, fun- 
fhine weather $ and if the ground is 
poor, to put well-confuni d dung at the 
bottom of the holes 5 and under that, 
rotten, butter-like dung, for the roots 
to rim in. 

Concerning the culture of kidney 0/^ the 
beans, there is not much to be faid, ^^^^'"^ ^/ 
after they are well planted as before di- ^J^l 
redted; if they are tranfplanted from 
feed-beds (which may be done as well 
as you do cabbage plants) they fhould be 
watered till they have taken raot i but 

R the 



342 T^he Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

the greateft ufe that culture is to thefe 
plants, is howing or eartWng up j and 
this truly is the all in all, the only fe- 
cret that attends the guidance of this 
plant, and all other legumes, for that 
it not only keeps them fteady, but alfo 
fecures the roots (yet tender) from the 
froft of winter, and the heat of fum- 
mer , but more than all, that they draw 
new roots by that earthing up, which 
is of fingular advantage to them. 

It is to be noted, that kidney beans, 
as well as pcafe and other beans, tranf- 
plant very well 5 by which means you 
may fill up any vacancies in your main 
crop, with plants out of your frames 
or nurfery-beds. 

SECT. VL CHAP. XL VI. 
Of mboil'd or raw fallets. 

WE are now arrived to the fixth 
fedion, which treats of all thofe^ 
unboird herbs and acetaria^ or raw fal- 
lets, which on account of the variety 
of the fpecies that are contained therein, 
the different manner and feafons of 

fowing, 



The ^raBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

fowing, various ufes, and different me- 
thods of Goiiecting and dteffing, may 
well be reckoned amongft the moft Cm- 
riouSj if not the moil ufeful part of 
kitchen gardening. 

Thofe who would criticize on the 
word acetaridy would have it derived 
from acceptaria ab accipiendo 5 thereby, 
it is fuppofed, implying its readinefs,- 
ufefulnefs and acceptablenefs to the pa- 
late, afid as requiring little or no trou- 
ble in colleding, dreffing or boilings 
fomething agreeable to what * ^elacam- 
piusy in his annotations on 7liny, fets 
down, who fuppofes it to be acetaria 
wl acedariay becaufe they require little 
or no care 5 even as honey which flows 
of its own accord, and is not procured 
by any diligence of the owner, is called 
acedon. 

Whatever the derivation of it be, there 
are about thirty or forty fpecies that are 
by fome learned naturalifts appropriated 
to this purpofe. Of which, befides thofe 

• Acetaria vel acedaria quse exiguam vel nullam cu- 
ram pofcerent, lie mel quod fponte fua fluxit nec cura- 
toris diligentia exprelTum eft, acedon didtuf. Delacamp^ 
anmt. in Plin. lib. 20. cap, 5. 



that 



The TratJical Kitchen Gardiner. 



that are already treated of, there are a- 
bout thirty kinds that are very ufeful $ 
ten whereof are thofe that are to be 
whited or blanched, and the reft eaten 
green ; and two claffcs of thefe are like- 
wife fnbdivided into two others, I mean 
thofe that are biennial or triennial, laft- 
ing two or three years, or more, only 
cutting them down, and drawing frefh 
leaves , of all which I fhall fet down a 
lift or catalogue, which, with fome fmall 
alteration, is the fame that was deliver'd 
to the Royal Society, by that right noble 
and moft learned enquirer into nature, 
Mr. Robert Boyle. 



SECT. VI. CHAP. XLVII. 

A lift or catalogue of the feveral herbs 
proper to be ufed in fallets, with their 
manner of preparing. 

1. Sallary, two kinds,! 

2. Alifanders, or Ma- j 

cedonian parfley. *^ Thefe to be tied 

3. Fennel. j up. 

4. Succory. j 

5. Endive. j. 

6. Cofs 



<5. 

7. 

8, 

9. 
lO. 

II. 

12. 

u. 
14. 
15. 

16. 

17. 
18. 

19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 

23. 

24. 

25. 
26. 

27. 
28. 

29. 
30. 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

Cofs or gofs' 
lettuce. 

Roman ditto, 

Stlefia ditto. 

Imperial ditto. 

All forts of cab- 
bage lettuce. 

Mint. 



Thefe to be tied up 
with bafs mats to 
blanch, or other- 
wife pome or 
blanch themfelves. 



Tarragon. 

Sage. 

Gives. 

Onion, and 

chibouls. 
Burnet. 
Rocket. 
Sorrel. 
Crefles. 
Rampion. 
Corn-fallet. 
Turnep. 
Hartfhorn. 
Muftard. 
Cherville. 
Spinage. 
Lopplettuce. 
Purflane. 
Nafturtian. 
Cucumbers, 



The leaves and tops 
to be eaten, and 
the young fhoots 
cut while very- 



young, 
tender. 



green and 



Thefe to be cut as 
foon as out of the 
ground, being ve- 
ry young and ten- 
der, and in the 
feed leaves. 



J } 



R J All 



245 The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 

All which I fhall treat of in the or^ 
dcr that thcv are fet down in the above* 
faid lift. 

SECT. VI. CHAP. XLVIII. 

Of fellery, alifanderSy fennel, fuccory, 
endive, and other [diet herbs that are 
*whitned or blanched, 

OF all the herbs for fallethig that 
are blanched, the feilery, or apitim 
Italicimy (of the petrofeline family) as 
Mr. Evelyn phrafcs it, is the chiefeft and 
heft. It was not long ago a ftranger with 
us in England, (as that elaborate author 
obfcrves) and not long very well known 
in Italy it felf, that now boafts of the 
honour of its original and produdion; 
being for the moft part accounted no 
other than a generous fort of Macedo- 
nian parfley, or fmallage, and fo I have 
confidered it. 

The apitim, comprehending the whole 
lift of the petrofeline family, is fo term- 
ed (as the learned Stephens and Brown 
fet down, u-iXivov dirl Ttjg (TtXriv'/ig) from 
that * lunary efFed it is faid to have 

« Vid. Catal. Hort. Botan. Oxcp. /. 1 8. 



The 7 radical Kitchen Gardiner. 247 

upon its eaters. It does not appear, by 
what the writers on plants of our own 
country have fet down, that the Italian 
fellery was fo much as known by them 
at the time that Gerard and Tarkinfon 
wrote, unlefs the apium palujlre eleofe- 
linum Jive paladapium, the marfh parf- 
ley or Imallage of Gerard, p. 1014. or of 
Varkinfon be it ; which 1 fuppofe not, 
becaufe there is a kind growing wild 
with us tiiat feems to belong to their 
defcription more than this, which they 
tell us grows wild with us upon the 
banks and fait marfhes of Kent and Ef- 
fex. 

But however thefe things be, they are 
all of them moft excellent herbs, when 
eaten either raw or in fallets when 
whitned, participating of a lovely aro- 
matick tafte, between hot and dry, as 
garden parfley is, and in all things as 
good or better, when eaten with oil, 
vinegar, fait and pepper, for its high 
and grateful tafte is ever placed in the 
middle of the grand faliet at great mens 
tables, and prxtors feafts, (as Mr. Eve- 
lyn remarks) but our wild fmallage is 
eaten raw, being not counted good in 
fauce, as Gerard witnefTeth. 

R 4 Sellcry 



8 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

'hy Sellery (others Celery) is a fallet pro- 
duced by feeds, but its general ufe is de- 
ferred till the end of autumn, or the 
beginning of winter, and is continued 
quite through the whole winter feafon 5 
which occafions (fay all authors that 
have wrote on this part of gardening) 
that the fowing is at two feveral times, 
but 1 advife three, as follows 5 the firft 
is fome time in February y or the begin- 
ning of March, on an old hot-bed, 
which will fupply you with enough to 
plant a nurfery bed of about fix foot 
long, and four foot wide, and that will 
be more than enough in the largeft plan- 
tations, the ufe of it being chiefly in 
loops and pottage, and for fome few 
gentlemen who are extreme lovers of 
it raw, in Augiiflj and the beginning of 
September , but all kinds Qf feliery be- 
ing apt to run to feed, a little, as was 
before faid, will be fufficient for the firft 
fowing, to precede another fowing that 
ought to be in the beginning of April > 
the fureft method of tranfplanting it, 
in order to make it grow ftrong and 
ftocky, and to burnifli well at the bot- 
tom (which is a very eflential quality 
to this plant) is the tranfplanting it into 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 



24? 



a nurfcry bed, as has been before hint- 
ed, at about two or three mches, fays 
Mr. la ^intinyey but I rather advife 
four or five inches, for the reafons be- 
fore obferv'd, 'viz. its ftrength and Hoc- 
kinefs. I tranfplant my firft fowing a- 
bout the beginning of May^ my fecond 
at the beginning of Jtine, and the laft> 
being the main crop which is defigned 
for the winter, about the beginning of 
Jtily ; and in about three weeks or a 
month's time (more or lefs, according as 
the feafon is) after they are fo tranfplant- 
ed into the nurfery bed, trenches are to 
be made, and the fellery planted out 
of thofe beds tliereinto 5 the manner 
and method of which, and how it is to 
be whitened and preferved, we come to 
next. 

In fome proper day, about the begin- 0/ th<r 
ning of June, July or Attgujly <^hoofe ^^^J^^'^^ 
out apiece of ground, more or lefs, ac-^J;^^^"* 
cording to the quantity of fellery yonfii^ery. 
have, or rather according to the large- 
nefs or fmallnefs of the family. The 
two firft crops are. generally fet between 
the afparagus or the artichoke beds^ 
where there muft be a trench or trenches 
dug, one foot wide at leaft; and one foot 
I ' and. 



3 The TraEitoal Kitchen Gardiner. 

and a half deep, or more 5 and if the 
ground is not extraordinary good and 
dungy already, fill up about five or fix 
inches of the trench with good rotten 
dung again, which will make your fel- 
lery very rank and large, (an effential 
quality to its goodnefs) and watering it 
well, there let it ftand till it be a foot 
high, and then take the opportunity of 
a fair fine day, to begin tying and earth- 
ing it up, with the earth that had been 
thrown out of the trench, when the 
fellery was firfl planted there ; but you 
muft not earth it all up at one time, but 
as the fellery advances in height, from 
five or fix inches to a foot, a foot and 
a half, or two foot, put up fomc moie 
fine earth or fand to it, fl:ill tying it clofe 
with mat bands to keep the earth from 
running into the heart or middle, and 
fo endangering the rotting of it, which 
yet is not fo bad as endive, by which 
means you will have a fine crop of fel- 
lery. The beds for the firft and fecond 
crop can t be lefs than twenty or thirty 
yards, but the laft ought to be at leaft 
an hundred, in all tolerable families. 

The laft, or main crop of fellery fliould 
not be all tranfplanted out at one time, 
X tho' 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 251 

tho* it be from the fame nurfcry bed 5 
but the largeft plants Ihould be taken 
firft, and after them the next fize, and 
fo to the laft ; for this hundred yards 
running of fcllery fhould be planted at 
leaft three or four different times, a 
part of it once every week or ten days, 
by which means the fellery, which is of 
its own nature too apt to run to feed 
after it is planted, will come one row 
after another. 

Watering of fellery is likewife of great of water- 
fervice to it 5 in the firft place, making ^^^^ 
it grow grofs and great, and confequent- ^"^^ 
ly fhort and good 5 and in the fecond, 
as it keeps it the longer from running 
to feed. We have two kinds of this 
fellery, which undoubtedly both came 
from Italy-, but the laft is the beft kind;, 
cfpecially for the firft crop, and grows 
in a pretty manner, and is therefore calFd 
the Italian fellery 5 the other is a native, 
at leaft now made a dennifon of that 
climate. 

Sellery will whiten in three weeks 
time after it is fo earthed up $ at which 
time you will, I think, have one of the 
beft produces of the garden, and that 
you may enjoy it the longer, as foon as 



z$z The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

the firft fruits come, cover it all over 
with long dry wheat ftraw, which muft 
be thrown by as you dig or take it up, and 
after Chrijimas take up all that remains 
as yet undug (at leaft fuch as is de- 
/ign d for falleting) being the beft and 
fineft of it, and carry it into the con- 
fervatory or greenhoufe, and having al- 
ready prepared fome very fine dry fand, 
lay it there in rows, fo as not to touch 
one another, and for the reft it may re- 
main and take its chance abroad, as to 
feeding, &c. which for foup is not fo 
prejudicial as falleting 5 a note that all 
gardiners do or ought to make. 

As for feed for the next yeaf, any of 
the plants that remain all the winter 
will make good feed, as will alfo thofe 
that are fow'd early in the fpring,, all 
in one year. 

Mecedo- Macedonian parfley, or alifanders, the 
^^^'^^J^'J:^petTofelintm Macedonicum verum^ or 
fanders, truc parflcy of Macedonia, Gerard, \oi6, 
ihe propa- bcft of wiutcr fallcts, which muft 
%ndl be wiiitncd like wild endive or fuccory, 
as it is before direftcd, in Se£i, IV. that 
is to fay, the feed is to be fown in the 
fpring pretty thin, becaufe it produces 
a great many large leaves. At the end 

of 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner] 25 j 

of autumn all the ftalks and leaves are 
to be cut down, and then cover the bed 
again with long dry dung, or ftraw- 
fcreens, fo clofe that the froft may not 
come at it, by which means the new 
leaves that fpring forth will grow white, 
yellowifh and tender. 

It wou d feem a little ftrange that this 
plant fhould be no more ufed, were it 
not that the fellery, its near relation, 
was fo great a rival to it 5 but it has this 
to recommend it, that it partakes of al- 
moft all the good qualities of fellery, 
and will, by the treatment before fet 
down, laft much longer before it runs 
to feed; which may not be difpleafing 
to thofe that love to eat this fallet long 
in the fpring. 

Tcnnclyfrniculumj may well be brought of fennel 
into rank in this chapter, on account of 
its being fomething akin. Our herbalifts 
maintain two kinds, the fcenicuhim 'vul- 
gar e^ ^wA. t\\z fcenicuhm duke, the com- 
mon and fweet fennel, Gerard, J?. 1032, 

They are both rais'd by feed only, 
which is pretty fmall, longifli and oval, 
bunched and ftreak'd with greyifh ftreaks. 
It is fown, as moft other feeds are, in 
March, 

A curious 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardinerl 

A curious gentleman who has been 
abroad, recommends a very fine kind 
of fennel that grows in the gardens at 
Naples J that has a higher taftc and more 
fliort than either the feliery or alifan- 
derSy and not quite fo aromatick and 
fweet a tafte as tlie fweet fennel 5 in 
fhort, the account given of it will, I 
think, fufficiently recommend it to the 
curious to endeavour to propagate it. 

This ingenious gentleman affures mc 
he has tried it in Englandy from feeds 
brought over along with him, and all 
the fault he can find is, that it is very 
apt to run to feed, but the often tranf- 
planting and keeping it well watered, 
may, in all probability, obviate fuch a 
misfortune in this, as well as it hath done 
in other herbs of the fame nature. 

SECT. VI. CHAP. XLIX. 
Of the garden fuccory^ endive y &c. 

THO* fuccory and endive might 
well have been deferred in this 
account till we had arrived to the fixth 
fedion or clafs, which treats of fallet- 
ings, it being one of the beft that is 

for 



The TraElicd Kitchen Gardiner. 

for that purpofe; yet fince it is ufed 
fometimes as a royal fallet, and that fuc- 
cory is ufed no other way, I thought it 
proper to infert it here, that there may 
be nothing wanting under this head for 
the boiler, whether dcfigned for foups, 
ragows or broths, as well as the others 
that are for eating with meat, and the 
like. 

Tho' writers of botany have no where, 
as I have read, fo much as guefs'd at 
the etymology of this plant cali'd fuc- 
cory, being the cichorium of the anti- 
cnts 5 yet we find two kinds that have 
had a place in our HerbalSy that are raif- 
cd in gardens, and ufeful in the kitchen, 
and they are the cichorium fativum flora 
caruleo, and the cichorium fativum flora 
albOy the blue and white leav'd garden 
fuGCory, p. 282. of Gerard^ and 777. of 
^arkinfon 5 both which are at this time 
cultivated in our gardens. Mr. Evelyn 
fays of it, that it is an intube erraticy 
and wild with a narrow dark leaf, dif- 
ferent from the fative or garden kind ; 
but our HerbalSy as above, make two 
kinds of that which is raised in gardens, 
and two kinds that are wild, without 
i:eckoning endive, which is alfo an in- 

tube^ 



2^6 Hhe Tracheal Kitchen Gardiner, 

tube, rais'd after the fame manner, and 
apply'd to the fame ufes and purpofes 
in all emulfions, broths, &c. 
Of endive. The endive, endiviuniy or endivia fa- 
tiva, may be juftly, for the reafons a- 
bovemcntion'd, brought into this clafs; 
there are, fay the botanifts, of this kind 
two fpecies that books of plants take 
notice of, and they are the endiviay or 
intuba fativa, of Gerard, p. 282. and 
of TarkinfoUj p. 77^. the endivia crifpa 
of Gerard, p. 282. and of Tarkinfony 
p. 495. the garden and curl'd endives 
both of which arc ufed with great efteem 
by cooks, whether Fre?ich or Englijh, 
Of the Succory, when it is yet green, is fo 
%Tic!or^ bitter that there are but few can eat it 
andendive. i'^w ; yet whcn it's a little edulcerated 
with fugar and vinegar, is by fome, efpe- 
cially the French, Italians and Spaniards, 
eat raw i but is more grateful to the 
ftomach than the palate. The endive, 
the largeft and tendereft leaves being 
whitened and well boil'd, eat agreeably 
tho' we generally eat them raw, and in 
winter, as imparting an agreeable bit- 
ternefs to fallets at that time of the 
year. It is naturally cold, and therefore 
* profitable for hot ftomachs, incifive and 

opening 



Th Tragical Kitchen Gardiiier, 257 

opening all obftrudions of the liver, but 
the curled is the moft delicate, being 
eaten alone or in compofitions. It is 
excellent good boil'd, the middle part 
of the blanched ftalk feparated eats firm, 
and the larger leaves are by many, and 
that with good reafon, preferred before 
lettuce. 

All forts of them agree tolerably well Soil avd 
with all kinds of foil (as Mr. T>e la'-'^'-"''- 
^intinye obferves) but a rich foil a- 
grees with them the beft, and fuch as is 
a little light and fandy, as experience 
teaches 5 and they are fown about the 
middle of May^ but thinly, that you 
may have room to come about them to 
tie them up 5 or they may be planted 
out in rows under fome good wall, at 
about eight or ten inches afunderj but 
of thefe there need not be many, be- 
caufe their ufes as yet are not fo great 
as they will be hereafter. 

The main feafons for fowing it is at Seafon, 
the latter end of June, and during the 
whole month of July, in order to have 
fome good for fpending in September^ 
which is the firft month they are eat 
with any great guft, being ufed chiefly 
in foupes, with the firft fellcry that comes 
S in. 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

in. And then again, in the month of 
Augiift there is another great crop fown, 
which is to laft all the other autumn 
months, and, being carried into the 
confervatory, all the winter. 

When endive comes up too thick (as 
was juft now mentiond) the beft way- 
is to hoe or eat it up, or take the fuper- 
fiuous plants to replant in another place, 
as before direfted 5 but it muft be re- 
membrcd that it ought to be well wa- 
tered, cfpccialiy in all hot weather, and 
as it grows large to tie it up with bafs 
mats to whiten it, tho' not all together, 
but fome one time and fome another, 
as occafion requires, it being apt to rot 
when it has been long tied up, but be- 
ing fo tied, it whitens in fifteen or twen- 
ty days, and lefs ; but it muft alfo be 
noted, that you Ihould chufe a fair day 
for that work, elfe it will be fubjed to 
rot 5 and as it is a plant that is very ap- 
prehenfive of the froft, as foon as ever 
cold weather begins to come on, it 
ought to be covered with long dung, 
being firft fanded up with fome rich fine 
fand, or fine mold, and when white, 
taken up and carried into the confer- 
vatory, as bcfore-mentiond. 



The ^raBkal Kitchen Gardner. 1 5 p 

If any of the plants can be prefervcd 
during the winter, which it is eafy c- 
nough to do, tiiey muft be tranfplanted 
again in the fpring, to produce feed the 
next year , or you may clap fome frames, 
bell-glaffes, or other coverings, to fe- 
cure it againft fevere frofts. 

Wild endive, or fuccory, is fown at 
the very beginning of March, pretty 
thick, and in ground well prepared 5 we 
endeavour to fortify it, and by watering 
to caufe it to grow big in the funimer, 
that fo it may be fit to whiten in the 
winter. The method to v/hiten it is to 
cover it up with a great deal of long 
dung, having firft cut it clofe to the 
earth , by which means being forced to 
fpring up (fays Mr. la ^intinye) 
in obfcurity, and fhaded from all light, 
its young fhoots grow white and tender j 
the beft way of doing this being by 
props, crolling from fide to fide, to keep 
the dung from touching it, fince it fhoots 
up in fuch an open manner, fo that care 
be taken to fhut up the paiTages on all 
fides, that little or no air or light can 
get in 5 and being thus order d, its fhoots 
are much cleanlier, and lefs fubjed to 
tafte of the dung. There are fome peo- 
S % pie 



262 The TraBkal Kitchen Gardiner. 

rieties are feldom fowed in any one 
place. 

Tliny and others that have wrote of 
its virtues, fpeak of it as being by na- 
ture one of the moft cooling refrefliing 
herbs that is, and confequently grateful 
to the ftomach in the heat of fummer, 
caufing an appetite and digeflion; but 
was more particularly ufed by the an- 
tients (as the learned 'T) e lac ampins ^ in his 
annotations on Tliny, affures us) towards 
the latter end of their feafts, that it might 
expel hard drinking, and thofe grievous 
pains in the head that attend it, accord- 
ing to that of Martialy 

Claudere qtiae cmas laBuca folebat avorumy 
T>ic mihiy cur noftras inchoat ilia dapes. 

Some indeed complain of its foporife- 
rous quality, calling it, in a metapho- 
rical fcnfe, the mortuorum cibiy on ac- 
count of its conciliating quality, and 
the ftory of Adonis his fad miftreis 5 but 
Autor Moreti, as the aforemention'd 
T>elacampius notes, allows it a much 
better title, who calls it. 



Grata que nobilimny reojtiieslaElucaciborum, 

And 



Hhe Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

And SuetoniuSy in his life of AugttfttiSy 
as does alfo Tliny-, in his aforemention'd 
account of this herb, gives an elabo* 
rate encomium of its excellence in the 
curing that prince of a dangerous fick- 
nefs, for which it was faid that he erect- 
ed a ftatue, and built an altar to it. 

And (as Mr. Evelyn obferves) it ever 
was, and ftill continues to be the prin- 
cipal foundation of the univerfal tribe 
of fallets, which is to cool and refrefh 
palates, befides its other properties, and 
was therefore in fuch high efteem amongft 
the antients, that divers of the Valerian 
family dignified and ennobled their name 
with that of the LaEiucmt. 

It is indeed of a nature more cold and 
moift than any of the reft of falletings 
are, yet lefs aftringent, and fo harmlefs 
that it may fafely be eaten raw in fevers^ 
for it allays heat, bridles choler, extin- 
guifhes thirft, excites appetite, kindly 
nourifhes, and above all, repreffes va- 
pours, conciliates fleep, and mitigates 
pain, befides the ^fFedl it has upon the 
morals, temperance and chaftity, Ga- 
len (whofe beloved difh it was) from its 
pinguid, fubdulcid and agreeable naturCj 
fays it breeds laudable blood $ and was 
S.4 by 



264 The TraBlcdl Kitchen Gardiner, 



by the antients, by way of eminence, 
called fana. 

And the mofl excellent and abftemi- 
ous Emperor Tacitus, fpending almoft 
nothing at his frugal table in other dain- 
ties) was yet fo great a friend to lettuce, 
that he would often fay, when he had 
cat thereof, and refted well, that he 
procured his fleep at a great price ^ and 
AriJioxenuSj as an oft quoted author in- 
forms us, ufed to water his lettuce beds 
with water and honey mix'd. But to 
the feed, culture, (^c. 
Of lettuce. It is bcft to havc lettuce feeds frefh 
^^/j^^^^^^ every year from foreign countries, be- 
caufe it is fuller and better feed, and 
produces much finer lettuce than what 
has been faved often with usj however, 
in good years we fave it plentifully e- 
nough 5 all which is too well known for 
me to enlarge or infill upon 5 I need 
only mention that the feed fhoud be 
faved only from the largeft and beft of 
the lettuce heads, and fuch as are the 
clofeft and beft of their kinds, and which 
have been tranfplanted and flood all the 
winter 5 for then the feed has time to 
ripen well, and in order to make it the 
more perfect, it is well to fet fome 
2 hand- 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner, 26$ 

hand-glaffes, or frames of glaffes before 
them to ripen the feed the better, and 
as foon as it is ripe, which may be feeu 
by the downy cottony matter that is on 
the tops of the feeds, then the whole 
ftalk Ihould be laid carefully in fome 
green-houfe, and well dry'd, till it be 
fit to threfh or beat out, which it will 
foon be. 

Lettuce is that mod ufcful manna o^ofthefen^ 
our beft gardens (as Mr. 2)^ la ^inti- f'^^^^ 
nye terms it) and of which all the world J^^^^'-^^J^ 
is fo fond 5 it requires many and diffe- raifmgiet- 
rent feafons of fowing, thofe which are 
good in fome months of the year not 
being fo in others 5 fome that grow well 
^in fpring, thriving not fo well in the 
fummer 5 and thofe which profper in 
autumn and winter, coming to nothing 
neither in the fpring nor fummer 5 fome 
that pome and cabbage of their own ac- 
cord, and others that muft be tied up 
to make them clofe and white, as the 
cofs or gofs lettuce, the Silefiay Ro- 
many &c. 

Now tho* there are many kinds ofo/ the 
lettuce, as has been before fet <^^wn, ^^^^^^^ 
yet there are not above fix or eight kinds ^fttiiceu 
I would recommend to any fmall garden, 

thofe 



266 The TraEli&al Kitchen Gardiner. 

thofe being fufficient for the furniture 
of a middling, or indeed any confider- 
able table ; the reft may be fow'd in 
more extenfive gardens, where great va- 
riety is required. For winter lettuces, I 
recommend the common cabbage, brown 
"Dutch and Genoa lettuces, in refped of 
their hardinefs : for the fpring, to be 
tied up and blanch'd^, and to maintain 
the table all the fummer months, the 
cofs or gofs lettuce, the beft of all, the 
white Imperial, curled and plain, and the 
Silejia^ &c. and for the autumn, the 
Arabia and Bellegarde lettuces, and fome 
few of the preceding months ; for the 
autumn and winter, I have alfo feen a 
moft excellent bright kind of lettuce, 
called the Smyrna lettuce, which fome 
time fince my very ingenious and wor- 
thy friend, Mr. Jacob Wrench^, of Vara- 
dife garden in Oxford, communicated 
to me, but as it is very difficult to feed 
here, how hardy foevcr it is to ftand 
the winter, I have loft it, and know not 
at prefent how to retrieve it. 
F^n-ticu' Thofe defigned for winter, which is 
larfcajons the fcarccft time of all the year, are 
Vj'^^^-^g- fowed on old hot beds, and in about a 
fortnight or three weeks after that they 

are 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 26 j 

are pluck'd out into beds made of the 
mowings of grafs, ofFage herbs, greens, 
or long light dung, whereby there may 
be a little heat communicated to the 
roots, to make them ftrike and grow the 
better : fome plant them under the me- 
lon glalTes, the bed being made under 
fome warm wall, or reed hedge, which 
they keep cover'd in all extreme wea- 
ther. A frame or two ordered after this 
manner is certainly right 5 but moft of 
thefe kinds are fo hardy that in all mild 
feafons they will ftand the feverity of the 
weather, being pomed or cabbaged be- 
fore it comes in. 

Thofe that are fowed to come in ear- 
ly in the fpring, and for the fore-part 
of the fummer, are ty'd up and blanch'd, 
as the cofs, Silejia, Imperial, &c, be- 
ing fow'd towards the latter end of Au- 
gufi, or beginning of September^ and 
are to be fow*d and planted out in a 
bed moderately heated, and under a good 
warm hedge or wall, with glalTes, frames, 
bells, mats, and other conveniencies to 
preferve them all the winter 5 and thefe 
both require and deferve our care. 

What is elfewhere obferv'd in the dig- 
ging in of long dung, thatch;, (ire, in 

the 



2 6$ The Tra5iical Kitchen Gardiner, 

the borders where we plant out winter 
or early crops, docs well here 5 for thofe 
long dungs lying hollow, drain up all 
fuperfluous moifture, which would other- 
wife rot the fibres, and fpoil the head. 
But to proceed. 

The chief feafon of all for fowing of 
lettuce feeds, and when we are to dif- 
play all or moft of our kinds, is about 
the beginning of February^ on our old 
hot-beds, or new ones moderately heat- 
ed, well glaffed, and all in order to pre- 
ferve them from the rigour of the wea- 
ther that happens in this and the fucceed- 
ing month. 

They are to be pricked out with care 
under frames or beJls, in the beginning 
or middle of March-, to fucceed thofe 
that were preferv'd all the winter, in A- 
fril and the beginning of May, 

But the laft and greateft of the fpring 
lo wings, and which is to fupply the grofs 
of any family all the fummer, are thofe 
that are fowed in open ground amongft 
your young afparagus, carrot beds, (^c, 
in March., the produce of which will be 
wonderful, if the foil be good, and well 
meliorated with dung. Thefe being mix d 
with radifhes, carrotS;, and all othei: 

fpring- 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner] 269 

fpring-efculents, are not to be tranf- 
planted at all, but cleared of weeds, and 
fet out at reafonable diftances with a 
hoe, or by weeding women, and you 
will have them in all the perfedion that 
this herb is capable of 5 but at the fame 
time as you fow them, there fhould like- 
wife be fown fome on a good warm 
border under a wall, for fear the fum- 
mer fhould turn very wet and dafhy ; 
and thefe fhould be tied up in dry fair 
weather 3 and if the fummer fliould prove, 
as it often happens in England^ wet and 
untoward, and the lettuce fhould be in 
danger of being rotted, it would do well 
to have them fcreened a little with 
frames of reed j but this fo feldom hap- 
pens, that I need not caution againft it. 

When you hoe them, or plant them 
out, the diftance ought to be according 
to the fize of the kind you fow or plant 
out 5 the Imperial, Silefia and cofs let- 
tuces can't have lefs than a foot diftance 
to plant them out in 5 while the com- 
mon cabbage, T>utchy and other kinds 
that are fmaller, will do well enough 
fix or feven inches afunder, Jjnd eight 
or nine at moft. 



The 



270 The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 

The laft fowing of lettuces for au- 
tumn is performed the latter end of 
May^ or beginning of June^ even till 
Midfummer^ and it would be well to 
low thefe under fome gentle fhade, in 
an old orchard or kitchen garden, where 
it is fcreen'd from the too intenfe heat, 
yet admitting of fome glimmering fun, 
which would otherwife caufe them to 
run to feed before their time. But this 
fowing, as I have obferv'd before, fliou d 
be compofed chiefly of thofe lettuces 
that aix hardy, and cabbage well, not 
being apt to run to feed, to which ma- 
ny kinds of lettuce are at this time of 
the year by nature too much adapted. 
I need add little as to their further cul- 
ture and management in the feafon, but 
only that they are to be as often water- 
ed as the heat of the feafon, or the 
landy or gravelinefs of the foil requires. 
It is much more to the benefit of my 
reader, that I advife the putting of good 
right mold and dung amongft all the 
forementioned lettuces in the fpring 
(efpecially if the ground be poor) and 
good cool dung, fuch as that of cows and 
hogs 5 and for the latter part of the fum- 
nier and autumn fervice, retardation be- 
ing 



The VraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 271 

ing the moft elTential part of the care of 
this time of the year, as acceleration is 
the bufinefs of the fpring. All that is 
to be added in relation to lettuces, is, 
that there is a kind calFd laEiuca agnina^ 
or lambs lettuce, of two or three kinds, 
which properly belong to this clafs 5 Ge- 
rard and Tarkinfon have two fpecies, 
one with narrow leaves,, caird agnina 
laEiuca^ Gerardy p, i\o. lambs lettuce, 
or corn-fallet 5 and the other, la6iuca 
agnina latifoliay or the broad-leav'd 
lambs lettuce, Tarkinfon, Gerardy 
p, 310. to which the Oxford catalogue 
has added another kind (which I have 
not feen) called laBuca agnina foliis 
^ariegatiSy i. e. the party-colour'd lamb 
lettuce 5 as alfo two other wild kinds I 
need not mention. 

Lob or lop lettuce is only feed faved 
from lettuce ftalks that never cabbaged, 
and is for that reafon faved only to cut 
in the feed leaves. 

I have fome few years fmce feen a 
beautiful kind of cabbage lettuce from 
Hollandy all marbled or ftrip'd, which 
is an extraordinary lettuce for the or- 
nament of a fallet, the infide being ve- 
ry often as red as blood, and is as good 

to 



T.'jz The Tragical Kitchen G ax dine f. 

to eat at leaft as any of the common 
cabbage lettuces 5 but the feed, as yet, 
I have not had the good luck to fave. 
There is alfo a little round lettuce, the 
fame in all probability that the French 
call the mignion lettuce, which is a 
wonderful lettuce to cabbage, and lies 
low, fnug, and in a little room, and 
fo not improper to preferve all the win- 
ter under frames or glalTes, and fomc of 
them may be tried in the open ground, 
being tolerable hardy. 

SECT. V. CHAP. LI. 

Of minty tarragon:, and other fallet herbs 
that ft and many years without renew- 
ing, their frnall leaves being only cut 
in the fpring. 

' I this clafs of plants belong eight 
\ forts, *viz, the common mint, 
tarragon, fage, cives, onions or chibouls, 
rocket, burnet, forrel ; they all affed 
one kind of culture, and are all of them 
adapted to the fame purpofes. 
Of mint. And firft of mint, call'd menta, by 
7 liny y lib. 19. cap, 8. but for the fweet- 
nefs of its odour it was amongft the 

Greeks 



• 



The Traciical Kitchen Gardiner, 

Greeks cali'd r,dvocrij.(§^-':> and fo T>iofco- 
rides^ lib. 3. cap. 41. ufcs it. It is (as 
Mr. Evelyn obferves) dry and warm, 
and a little fragrant ; being prefs'd be- 
tween the fingers, is friendly to a weak 
ftomach, and powerful againft many 
diftempers. There are three forts of 
mint that, when the leaves are very 
young, may be admitted into the fallet, 
and thofe are the mentha Romana vel 
fativa, mentha cardiaca^ or heart-mint 5 
and the mentha crifpa, or curled mint ; 
to be found in Gerard , J). 6 So. and in 
'parkinfon, 3 1, 3 2. This is propagated 
by fliping and parting, as all the reft of 
this clafs are. 

The draco herba of Gerard, p. 249. 
Parkinfon, p. 500. is (as our oft-quoted 
author fets down) of Spani^ extraction, 
hot and fpicy; the tops, when young 
and tender, like thofe of rocket, ought 
never to be omitted in the fallet-com- 
pofition ; efpecially where there is much 
lettuce, the coolnefs of which this and 
the rocket corrects, being a great cor- 
dial, and friendly to the head and brain, 
and of other ufes, too many here to 
name. 



Sage, 



274 The Trd6iical Kitchen Gardiner, 

Of f age. Sage^f*, falvia, hot and dry; the tops 
wcli pick'd and v/afh'd, and alfo the 
flowers, when they are in bloom, re- 
tain all the noble properties of other 
plants to that high degree, that the af- 
fiduoLis life of it was fuppofed by the 
anticnts to make men immortal, at leaft 
very proiifick. This is to be admitted 
into the fallct only when it is very young, 
otherwife it is apt to be thought a bitter. 
It is well known to be rais'd of flips or 
cuttings, planted m April, 

Of cives. Gives are likewife in the fpring, when 
very young, to be admitted into the 
fallet in the room and for want of oni- 
ons, v/hich it very well fupplies. It is 
fuppos'd by Mr. T^e la §^intinyey to be 
a native of England s and is well known 
to be encreas'd by ofF-fets or flips. 

Of chi- Chibouls, or cerula, has been before 

huh. defcrib'd, under the head of the onion 
in boil'd fallets. 

Ofburnet. * Timpemellj or pimpinellaj fo much 
in requeft by the Italians and French, is 

t Quod ad multa, prsefertim ad foecunditatem, falutaris 
fit, cum fteriles, hujus ufu frequenti, gravidas reddantur, 
Catal. Hort. Botan. Oxofi. 1 64. 

* Pimpinella vel bipinnella a foliorum binis ordinibus 
pennatim vel plumatim digeftis nominatur. Yi^:Oxford 
Catal. p. 141. 

our 



The Tra£fical Kitchen Gardiner. 275 

our common burnct, of a very cheering 
and exhilarating nature, when cut young 
and ufed in failets, as well as when it 
is grown larg-cr for wine 5 it is call'd 
pimpinella^ vel bipinnelUy fay our learn- 
ed etymologifls, from the double order 
or range of its leaves, which are fet 
like a plume of feathers. There are but 
two fpccies of it cultivated in gardens, 
neither ot them of any great account 5 
they may be both of them propagated 
by the roots, and in the place alfo where 
the feed falls they increafe greatly ; they 
are both figur'd and defcrib'd by Gerard^ 
^.1045. by the names of pimpnella hor- 
tenfisy garden burner j and by T^arkinJoUy 
pimpineila vulgaris minors p, 582. the 
other, pimpernel, or large burners, are 
figur'd and defcrib'd by the fame herba- 
xAsy pimpinella major vulgaris , Tarkin- 
fony p. 582. and pimpinella fylvejlriSy 
Gerard-, p. 1045. common great burnet. 
The feed is pretty large, and a little o- 
vular, with four fides, and is all over 
engraven as it were in the fpaces between 
the four fides. 

The laft plant in this clafs I have re- 
ferved for the antient and fo much fam'd 
eruca fativay or garden rocket. 

T z The 



z^6 The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

Of the The eruca, or rocket, fo called from 
rcdet. -^-^e Greek, % w^ofA.(§-, was had in fo great 
eftecm heretofore, as to its efficacy in 
conjugal performances, that many of 
the antient authors, both in poetry and 
profe, make mention of it purely for 
that purpofe 5 Tliny^ in his Natural Hif- 
torjy lib, 19- cap. 8. tells us it was par- 
ticularly noted for a difpeller of all cold 
qualities, and being of a quite different 
nature from lettuce, is a great promoter 
of venery 5 for which reafon the antients 
always eat it with lettuce, that the heat 
of the one might temper the coldnefs 
of the other : on which account alfo it 
was that the eruca was accounted facred 
to TriapuSj and planted for or by him, 
according to the following lines of Co' 
lumelUy 

* Et qu£ frugifero feritur vicina priapo, 
Excitat ad venerem tardos eruca maritos. 

Agreeable alfo to that of Ovidy 

^ *f Nec minus erucas aptum efi v it are falaces 

Et quicquid veneri corpora nojtra par at. 

Eruca ivtpf^c<; quod jufculum commendat habeatque 
in ito peculiarem gratiam. Cataf. Hort. Botan. Oxon. 59. 
* Vid. Columella in hortOy lib. 20. cap. i o- 
t Vid. Matt air ^2, Edition of Ovid'^ Remedia amrifj 
261, 799, 800. 

And 



The ^ radical Kitchen Gardiner, 277 

And to both of them that of the mer- 
ry epigrammatift, 

"^Concitat ad veneremtardoseruca maritos. 

This and the tarragon (as Mr. Evelyn^ 
in his Acetaria^ has it) ought never to 
be omitted out of the fallet-compofiti- 
on, efpecially when qualified with let- 
tuce, purflane, and other coolers, being 
highly cordial to the head, heart and 
liver, correding the weaknefs of the 
ventricle, and the like. 

It is raised by feeds, which are of a 
reddifh, or rather dark cinnamon colour^ 
as fmall as purflane feed , the leaf is pret- 
ty much like the radifh leaf $ the feeds 
are fow'd at any time of the year, as o- 
ther fallet feeds ares but fome of the ^ 
kinds may be raifed as well of the flips 
of old plants fet out in April:, in the 
manner that forrel is planted, and much 
like it. It is to be often cut down to 
have it youngs which is a better way 
than feed, when you once are polTefs'd 
of the fpecies. But the Roman rocket 
is an annual, and is raised of the feed 
that falls from it every year. 

* Vid. Martial^ ^^/•43' lo- fubfine. 



T3 SECT. 



27 S Ihe TraSiical Kitchen Gardiner. 



SECT. VI. CHAP. LII. 

Of fever al falletings that are eat in the 
feed leaves y almojl as foon as the feed 
is come up. 

of creJJ'es. ^ ^^c crcffcs thcre are three or 
four forts that are admitted into 
the garden, though the fmall one is 
the moft ufed in failets, viz, the na- 
fturtium hort. vttfgare, common garden 
crefles, G>r/^r^,/>. 249. Tarki?iJon,p 824. 
the nafturtium hort. latif hifp. Vark, 
825. naft.hifp. Ger.p.2s^- the broad 
leav'd garden creffcs 5 and the nafi. hort. 
latif. crifp. . Tark p. 229. Ger. p. 249. 
the naft. Indicurn, or Indian creffcs, Ger, 
p. 252. '^Piirk. 1379. which arc undoubt- 
edly the fame we cultivate in our gar- 
dens to this day. 

Mr. Evelyn fays they are to be fown 
monthly ; but indeed experience tells us 
they are to be fown weekly, almoft dai- 
ly, all the year long, there being no fort 
of fallet that feeds better, or rifes quic- 
• ker ; the Indian kind is recommended 
above all, as moderately hot and aro- 

matick;, 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 279- 

matick, quickning the drooping fpirits, 
purging the brain, and of fingiilar efFcd: 
in the fcurvy, fo that all Englifhmen cmt 
eat too much of this herb, or chew it 
too much. 

The method of fowing this and thc^Oftheme- 
folio win"; herbs is fomethinff different 5 ^/-'^'^ ^-^ 
one method is in drills which are made 
with one's finger; and the other is by 
fowing of the feed all over the bed, and 
the fifting on of very fine earth thro' 
a fieve made of fine wire, or fplits about 
a quarter of an inch thick 5 and this laft 
is the beft method on hot-beds, there be- 
ing double the quantity of feed fow'd 
that way as can be any. This method 
I remember to have pradis'd in the 
royal garden in St. Jamess Tark, at 
that time und^r the diredion of the 
famous Mr. Lowder^ where it was once 
my lot to manage this province for fome 
time, and where we very feldom cut lefs 
than twenty or thirty fallets a day 5 if 
it is proper to remember fo unnatural a 
part of life. 

The efculent rampion, of Tarkinfon^ of the 
p. 648. or the rapuntium of Ger, /. ^^i, rampion. 
by the French calfd reponcesy is a fallet 
not of general ufe as other fallets are 5 
T 4 they 



2 so The TraSiical Kitchen Gardiner. 



they are a kind of a wild field radifli, 
multiplied only by feeds, in all degrees 
like garden radifhes, but, as Mr. Eve- 
lyn fays, much more nourifhing. Ano- 
ther author calls them by a different 
name, which for want of time to en- 
quire into or determine, I do not men- 
tion. 

Ofthera- So much has been already faid, as to 
dijh^ the good and bad properties of radifhes, 
and of the method of fowing them, in 
a forgegoing feclion, where boil'd fal- 
Icts are treated of, tliat no more need 
be added. 

Of corn- Of corn-fallet, latlnca agninay or 
jailet. lamb's lettuce, there are two kinds, as 
fee Gerard, p. 310. TarkinfoUy p. 812. 
all propagated from feed fowed in the 
fpring, or daily, if occafion requires. 
Of turnep The feed-lcavcs of turneps, as well as 
feed. thofe of radiflics, &c, are fown to be 
eat in the fame manner as the others 
are, but as there has been much alrea- 
dy faid in relation to its virtues, propa- 
gation, &c. no more fhall be added at 
prefent. 

Of harti' Hartfnorn, the corm cervinum of the 
honu botanifts, in French , come de leofy by di- 
vers named herba fella^ or felkria, but 

more 



The Tra^iical Kitchen Gardiner. 281 

more properly hartfhorn, on account of 
the fimilitLide of its leaf to the horns of 
a flag, hart, or deer. 

This plant has long been found grow- 
ing in barren places, and hardy grounds, 
but is now introduced into the garden, 
and eaten when young and fmall, in all 
raw fallets. It is, fay the herbalifts, like 
the common plantane (to which family 
fome reduce it.) This plant has done 
great cures to childrens eyes, when drank 
morning and evening. 

Muftard, the Jtnapi of the antients, was 0/ mt^f- 
held in very great repute by them, as^^^^- 
^Fliny teftifiesj it is exceeding hot and 
biting, not only in the feed, but the 
leaf aifo, and more efpecially in the feed. 
The young muftard plants, like thofe of 
radifhes, when they are juft peeping out 
of the bed, are of incomparable effeft 
to quicken and revive the Ipirits, they 
ftrengthen the memory, expel heavinefs, 
prevent the vertiginous palfy, and are a 
laudable cephalick. Befides, it's an ap- 
proved antifcorbutick and concodion, 
cuts and diffipates flegmatick humours. 
In fhort, it's the noble embammay and 
fo necelTary an ingredient in all cold raw 
Jfalleting, that it is very rarely, if at all, 

3 left 



282 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 



left out 5 antient authors add that it is 
very good when green to chew in the 
teeth for the fcurvy. 

Itsraifing, It is raifcd, as the others are, by feed, 
which comes up foon, and may be one 
of thofe that, according to the method 
fome time talked of, will be raifed du- 
ring the roafting a joint of meat. 

Of cher- Cherville, cerefolitm, by Mr. Evelyn^ 
is of kin to the antient myrrh, from the 
fweet fmell it breathes like it, and is 
by botanifts call'd myrrha. 

There are two kinds cultivated in 
gardens, njiz, myrrha major vulgaris Jive 
cerefolittm majtiSy Tark. p. 93 5- great 
fweet cherwithe 5 myrrha fativa Jive ce- 
refoltum vulg, fat. Ger. 1038. 7arL 
494. common garden cherwithe. 

How to It is not only raifed by feed, as the o- 

rr^'je it. xhzxs are, and cut in the fmall feed leaves, 
but it is alfo ufed by the cook, in height- 
ning their fauces. 

The herb cherville, of which we have 
been treating, tho' fweet and aromatic 
in the higheft degree, (which is its fault) 
is yet very good, if whitened as you do 
fellery, and of a much nobler gull, and 
were it larger would much outdo fellery 
it felf. You ,may plant it in trenches. 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 285 

or in bunches, which when tied up you 
may earth, and it will whiten as foon 
or fooner than fellery does, and is moft 
excellent in all foupcs and pottages. 

The fpinach and lob lettuce have been Of /pi- 
fo largely treated of in the fedion where- Yofiettua 
in boird fallets are fet down, that no- ^ ^ 
thins; need be faid more on this head, 
or of the raifing of it. 

Purflane, porUilacUy is admitted intoo////r/- 
fallets with a very good grace, being in- 
deed, when mix'd with hotter herbs, the 
beft herb that is cut in the leaves. It i^ 
called pOYtulaca * quod folii portulas imi- 
tetur 5 the Herbals take notice of it by 
thefe names, portulaca fativa^ Parkin- 
fon, portulaca domefticaj Gerard, 

p. \ , garden purflane ; portulaca cretica 
^ark, p.72^> Cotyledon ftellata Bauh. 
m Tinacey candy purflane agreeable to 
the kinds now propagated, viz. the green 
and golden purflane. It is multiplied by \ 
feed, the latter end of February^ and 
the beginning of March-, being always 
as late as cucumbers, and fo ought con- 
ftantly to be kept for cutting all the cu- 
cumber feafon s which is done by cutting 



f Job. Bauh. torn. 3. /. 678. 

3 it 



The Tra5tical Kitchen Gardiner. 

it clofe now and then, and laying on a 
little frefli mold, and watering it well. 

Mr. Evelyn fays that the golden kind 
is the beft, whilfl: tender, tho' I muft 
own I have not obferved any difference. 
That it is eminently moift and cooling, 
quickens appetite, affwages third, and is 
very profitable for hot and bilous tem- 
pers, as well as thofe that are fanguine 5 
and in fhort, that it has no bad quality 
but being prejudicial to the teeth^ is ve- 
ry well known. 

SECT. VI. CHAP. LIIL 

Of the feafons proper for every kind of 
fallet herby the quantity to be ufed^ &c. 

^ I ''Hat I may omit nothing that can 
JL contribute towards the making 
this treatife as ufeful as I can, 1 have in 
this chapter fet down the particular fea- 
fons when every kind of fallet is in its 
beft perfedion, having divided it accord- 
ing to the four feafons or quarters of 
the yearj with the proportion proper to 
be ufed of each kind , fomething agree- 
able to what the learned Mr. Boyle^ in 
the TranfaSiions of the Royal Society^ 



The apical Kitchen Gardiner] 

Vol. III. num, 40. p. 799. has fet down, 
tho* with confidcrable alterations and 
improvements. 

For the months of Januaryy February,, 
and March^ the proportion, of a 
good fallet, fellery four roots, endive 
three, fuccory two, fennel two, rampi« 
on three, all blanched as before 5 corn- 
fallet or lambs lettuce, and lop lettuce, 
a handfome gripe of each 5 radifh and 
crefTes three pinches, turnep and muftard 
two pinches each; forrel, cherwithe, 
burnet, rocket, a large pinch each 5 tar- 
ragon and mint a dozen tops each ; 
fiiall'Ots or fmall onions, ten or twelve 
cloves with their green ; to all thefe add 
one or two cabbage lettuces, if you 
have them. 

For the months oiApril.May 2S\diJme^ 
Silefiay Romany or other winter lettuces^, 
two or three in all > lop lettuce a hand- 
fome gripes radifh, creffes and turnepj, 
tiiree pinches of each 5 purllane one large 
gripe ; forrel and fampier, two pinches % 
eight or ten young onions or cives, ^c. 
fage tops, parfley, creiTes, cherwithe and 
burnet, two pinches of each j and alfo 
two, three, or four cucumbers, accord- 
ing to the largencfs of the failet. 

For 



286 The TraEtical Kitchen Gardiner. 



For thcL months of July^ Auguft and 
September y Silejia, Roman:, cols, Impe- 
rial, or other cabbage lettuces, from four 
to fix or eight, in large fallets ; crefles, 
purflane or lop lettuce, tarragon (now- 
come in again) forrel, burnet, and muf- 
tard, two pinches of each ; with endive 
and fellery, two roots each 5 but no cu- 
cumbers in thefe laft months, nor after 
Midfiimmer 5 add to thefe, three large 
gripes of nafturtian flowers. 

For the months of OEiober^ Novem- 
ber and 'December^ fellery, endive, fen- 
nel and f.iccory, the fame proportion as 
in January, February and March i lop 
and lambs lettuce, a large gripe of each, 
turneps, muftard, radifh and crelfes, in 
the feed leaves, two or three pinches of 
each 5 as alio eight or ten cloves with 
their greens, of fmali onions, cives or 
fhallots. 



SECT. 



The TraEtical Kitchen Gardiner, 



2%7 



SECT. VI. CHAP. LIV. 

Of gathering-, waging and drejjing of 
fallets, 

^"T*^0 finifh this account of falkts, I 
\ alfo add that of gathering, wafh- 
ing, and dreffing of them. Now as to 
the time and manner of gathering, you 
are to be provided with a basket divid- 
ed into eight or ten fmall fquares or 
cells, wherein you are to put each kind 
entirely feparate, becaufe fome gentle- 
men love one kind of fallet, and fome 
another 5 and alfo the faid basket fliould 
contain three or four larger long divi- 
fions or cells, which are placed in the 
middle, to hold the roots of fellery, 
endive, fennel, S'C. in the winter, or 
the different times of cabbage lettuce in 
the fummer. 

The morning whilft the dew is on is Of the 
undoubtedly the beft time for gathering ^^^^^-^^ 
all kinds of falletings, becaufe the leaves /^//^f rt 
then eat crifp and fhort $ nor does the 
plunging the fallet in water retrieve 
that negled, but caufes it to eat watery 
and flabby, and not to have its natural 

tafte^ 



2 88 The Tra&ical Kitchen Gardiner. 

tafte, as is eafily diftinguifliable by thofe 
that buy fallcts in the market 5 for 
which reafon thofe that cut faliets out 
of the garden, fliou'd take great care to 
get it early and frefli, and to lay it in 
fome cool place, only fprinkling fome 
water gently upon it, without either 
wafhing or picking it, till juft before it 
is ufed. Some people, in cafe this care 
is negleded, put the fallet in water, and 
throw two or three iiandfuls of fait on 
it. But tho' this is allowable in all boil'd 
yet it ought not, I prefume, to be in 
raw faliets. 

The next thing is the wafhing and 
cleanfing itj which ought to be done 
with great care, left fome of thofe fmall 
and almofl: imperceiveable inhabitants of 
plants and herbs fliould lodge them- 
felves therein, thofe infeds being no 
lefs naufeous and uneafy, than danger- 
ous ; of which hiftory, as well as daily 
experience, produces fuch inftances as I 
need not repeat. 

The lettuces, fellery, fennel, c3"^. fliould 
be quarter d, or cut into two parts, at 
leaft, and every particular leaf of the 
ftaik viewed with care, as fliould alfo 
all the fmaller ingredients. Which be- 
ing 



TP:e Tractkal Kitchen Gardiner. 

ing donC; you may proceed to place them 
iiiyoLirfalict difti, in a method and or- 
der, that when well done is both pleaf- 
ing to the mafter as well as gardincrj a 
good handfomc fallet being as beautiful 
a difh as any comes to a nobleman's or 
gcntlemans table. 

The antients always mix'd oil, vine- 
gar and honey together, for their fallets; 
but later and better experience have ba- 
nifh'd all fweet mixtures, except at the 
defire of ladies, and has introduc'd v/hat 
is better, and more agreeable to the pa- 
late, oil, vinegar, fait, boil'd eggs, and 
what is better than all (as being a mod 
excellent pedoral) good miifrard. 

Great care fhould be taken in the mix- 
ing and blending all thcfe materials to- 
gether with a filver knife or {.^oo'dy as 
Mr. Evelyn would have it, in fuch a 
manner that the whole may be incor- 
porated together, becaufe oil, vinegar, 
and the other materials, don't do it wich 
cafe. 

Six fpoonfuls of oil, four of vinegar^ 
two or three yolks of boil'd eggs, and 
two fpoonfuls of muftard, is a good 
proportion, and enough for a good large 
fallet 5 and it muft be obferv'd (from 
U Mr. 



290 The TraBtcal Kitchen Gardiner, 

Mr. Evelyn) as a piece of frugality, that 
wiien thefe ingredients are well mixd, 
and the fallct put therein by degrees, 
one after another^, and not cut too 
Imall, that half, at leaft much lefs oil, 
vinegar, and other liquids will do, than 
when the fallet is firft drefs'd, and thofe 
mixtures put upon it. That the difli you 
drefs it in fhould be of the fineft porce- 
lain or China ware, in great tables j or 
to others of a more different level, the 
beft l^elft. I add this only en paffant 5 
which lhail conclude all that I have to 
fay on the fubjed of fallets. 

SECT. VII. CHAP. LV. 

Of fxeet herbs, &c. for the life of the 
kitchen and laboratory, 

WE are now arrived to the laft fec- 
tion of this undertaking, which 
is to fhew the ufes and methods of pro- 
pagating of the feveral fvveet herbs that 
•are ufed in the kitchen and diftillary, 
without dipping into the materia medica-^ 
but fetting forth fuch only as are un- 
avoidably neccliary to be raifed in all 
gentlemcns and noblemens gardens, as 

they 



The TPraBkal Kitchen Gardiner. 291 

they not only impart plcafiirc to the 
taftcj but long life and health to thofe 
that make a regular ufe of them 5 and 
they are fuch as may be reduced into a 
very few heads, and in confequence 
thereof their ufcs may be illuftrated and 
made plain to the induilrious reader in 
few words. 

And they are, firfc, fuch as are for the 
more immediate ufe of the pot, as thyme, 
winter and fummer favory, winter and 
fummer fweet marjoram, plain and curFd, 
parfley, hylTop, marigolds, &c. 

The fecond clafs are of a mix'd nature, 
and are ufcful either in the kitchen or 
diftillary, fuch as forrel, beet, borrage, 
buglofs, orach, tanfy, coaftmary, bafd, 
fage and minfe 

To the third clafs, are reducible thofe 
herbs that belong to the laboratory or 
diftillary only 5 fuch are the carduus be- 
nediBuSy angelica, balm, carraway, anife, 
coriander, fenugreek, rhubarb, clacam- 
pane, poppy, dill, wormwood, lavender 
and rue. 



U 2 SECT. 



292 The Tra£iical Kitchen Gardiner, 



SECT. VII. CHAP. LVI. 
Of pot-herbs. 

Of thyme. 'TT^Hymc, the ferpillum of the Latin 
\ botaiiifts, is and has long been 
one of the principal pot herbs in ufe in 
the kitchen, fo called from * ferpendoy 
fignifying its repent or creeping quality, 
becaufe if any part of the green herb 
does but juft touch the ground, as it is 
apt to do in its own nature^ it imme- 
diately takes root. 

Our Herbals mention no lefs than 
eight kinds of thyme, which I have fet 
down in their refpedlive order, being all 
of them of great ufe in the kitchen and 
diftiilary, ferpillum vulgar ey G^r. 570. 
or ferpillum vulgare minus^ Tark p. 8. 
or, the wild or mother thyme 5 ferpillum 
citratum, Ger. p,$7, or lemon thyme, 
ferpillum mofchatum, Tark. p. 8. or broad 
musk thyme , ferpillum vulgare flore albo^ 
Ger. p, S70. or white flower'd thymes 
ferpillum hirfutum latif Tark. p. S. or 

* A ferpendo di£l. quia aliqua ejus particula terram 
tangente ab ea radices dimittantur. Cafa/. Hort. Botan, 
Ox on. /. 169. 

broad 



The VraBicd Kitchen Gardiner. 293 

broad leav'd hoary thyme , ferpilhm an- 
retim five "verficolor. ab eodtniy 'Park p. 8. 
or gilded thyme : but the thyme that is 
moll in ufe with us in gardens, is, thy- 
mum duriuSy and thy mum latifol. with 
the virtues of which all broths and foupes 
are impregnated, fo called from feveral 
roots out of the antient languages, which 
implied its efficacy in curing faintnefs, 
and foundings 5 to which, and many o- 
ther purpofes, they were ufed by the 
antients. 

They are well known to be rais'd by 
flips, or feed fown in March or ApriL 

Marjoram, the marjorana of the anti- oz/^^jr/.- 
cnts, has its derivation likewife from^^^^- 
the Greek Zct^i^t;;^ov, and is endued with 
the fame good quality as thyme, to ufe 
the words of the learned Stephens and 
Brown, §luia pallet vi exhilarandi ant- 
mum, eumque fervandi in fua integritate. 

There are about feven forts that have 
been long cultivated in our Englip gar- 
dens, viz. marjorana latif. colore albo, 
party- colour'd marjoram 5 ^ viridi va- 
riegat. Vark. p. 447. pot marjoram, 
marjorana tenuif. Ger.p. 664., Tark.p. 11. 
marjoram gentle j marjorana £fliva vulg. 
Tark'p* 1 1 . ordinary fummer fweet mar- 
U I jorams 



»4 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

joram; marjoranalatif. mtrea, Tark.p.iz. 
golden broad-leavVi marjoram ; marjora- 
na latif. Jive marjorana anglicay Gerard^ 
p. 66 1, winter or pot majoram 5 marjo- 
rana adorata pere7inis, Tark. p. 11. win- 
ter fwcct marjoram 5 marjorana fylv. 
^ark. p.\2. the origamim avgllcim of 
Gerardj p. 666. wild or field marjoram. 

It is encrcafed by flips planted in 
March or Aprih or by feeds fowed at 
that time. 

^^/o- Apittm, or parfley, is of the petrofeline 
family, the origuial of which has been 
already fet down 5 our Herbal s make 
mention of three kinds, two of which 
are now in ufe with us, 'viz,. the apitim 
hortenfe vulgar C:, common garden parfley ; 
apitim crifpum five mnltifidnmy curled 
parfley 5 apium Jive pet rojelinim Virgini- 
aniim-, Virginian parfley 5 all in Gerard, 
p, 1 01 3. zwdTarkinforiy p. 92^. 

Concerning the virtues of parfley, 
Mr. Evelyri writes of it, that being hot 
and dry it opens obftrudions, is very 
diurctick, yet nouriihing, being eduice- 
rated in warm Vv' ater, the roors clpecially , 
but of lefs virtue than aiifanders. The 
ufes of it are well known chiefly to con- 
fifl: in the kitchen;, where the cook can 

never 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 295 

never be without it, there being nothing 
more proper for ftuffing (farces) and o- 
ther fauces, and is therefore chiefly con- 
figned to the ohtory 5 fome few tops 
may be indeed ufed in fallets, but it is ^ 
a little too coarfe for any but ruilicated 
palates 5 nor need we but jufi mention 
that it was of old never brought to the 
table at all, being facred to death and 
oblivion, however ufeful now it is in 
pottage, foupes, broth, <^c. 

Savory, fatureia^ a fubftantive of Vli- offavory 
nfSj lib. 27. from fatuVy quia faturet 5 or, 
as the learned Stephens and Brown have 
it, a faturandoy quod cihis^ loco condi- 
mentis addatur. 

Of the favory there be two forts on- 
ly, that are cultivated in gardens, "viz,. 
fatureia hortenfisy Ger, p. $7$. or the 
fat. ^tdg. Tark. p. 4. winter favory 5 fa- 
tureia hortenfis aftiva, Ger, ibid, fat, hort, 
'Park. ibid, fummer favory. 

It is raifed by flips or feed, as thyme 
and marjoram are. 

HyfTop, hyjfopusy a moft noted herb 0/ 
in cures, an opener of the fine parts, 
by nature abfterfive, and in particular 
ufed in a cold or cough, afthmas, and 
other difeafes of the lungs, fo called 
U 4 from 



296 The Tracfical Kitchen Gardiner. 



from feveral roots out of the antient 
languages, which refer to the ules it was 
made of in the Mofaic law. 

There are about feven kinds of hyf- 
fcp that herbarifts give account of, ^iz. 
hyffopus vulg, Tark. p. r. hyffopus Ara- 
bn7n, Ger, p. 579. the common ox Ara- 
Irian hyffop with blue flowers 5 hyffopus 
fore albo-, Ger. ibid, white flower'd hyf^ 
fop h hyjfopus Ardbum flore rubro, Ger, 
ibid. TdvL p. 2. red hyffop ; hyjfopus 
I'erjicolory Ger. p. sSo. verf foliis niveisy 
'^Park.p. I. white party-colour'd hyffop 5 
hyffopus ucrficolor foUis anreiSy Turk, ibid, 
yellow party- colour'd hyflbp ; to all which 
is added, the hyffopus foliis hirfutiSy and 
the hyffopus foliis hirfutis variegatis^ the 
hoary leav'd hyflbps. 

Hyflbp, like all other pot-herbs be- 
foremention'd, may be railed from flips, 
but feed is the bell: and quickefl: way. 
Of i7iai-' We fhall finifii this firft clafs with 
golds. ^he marygold, the antient as well as 
prefcnt ornament of all pot and foupe 
herbs, imparting an antient ornament 
and look to all good houfewife's broths 
and porridges, and is by the Latins cal- 
led calendula^ for that it flowers almoft 
in every calend month. 

z There 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 297 

There are three kinds, calendula flore 
Jimplici, calendula multiflore orbiculata, 
Ger, p, 739. Turk. p. 29%. fmgle and 
doable marygolds , to which the herba- 
rifts of our own country add the calen- 
dula prolifera^ or fruitful marygold, Ger, 

739. Tark, p. 299' and the calendula 
major poly ant ho lib. 2. p. 739. of Ge- 
rard. 

The temperature of the marygold is 
hot almoft in the fecond degree, and 
therefore thought to comfort and 
ftrcngthcn the heart very much y and al= 
fo good againft peftilentiai agues. 

They are raifed by feed fowed gene- 
rally in Marchy but will come up ot 
themfelves by feed dropping from old 
heads ; but the method of raifing is fo 
cafy and fo well known to every good 
houfewife^ that I need fay no more 
of it. 



SECT. 



298 The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 



SECT. VII. CHAP. LVII. 

Of forrely beet, burr age, buglofs, orach, 
tanfy, and other pottage and phyjical 
herbs. 

Of forrei O much hss bccii faid in the fe- 
(indbeet. coiid feclioii, Concerning forrcl and 
beet, that I need add no more in this 
place, of their names, virtues, O'C. but 
only intimate that our beft cooks ufe 
them in pottage, foupes, c^r. as an a- 
greeablc mixture with other herbs. 
Of hor- Borrage, borrago, the carrago of the 
raget. antients {quia cordis ajfe6iibtis medetur) 
fay our learned botanifts, or, as Mr. Eve- 
lyn has it {gaiidia femper ago) from that 
chearfulnefs it infufes into the fpiritsj 
it is hot, and kindly moid, purifying 
the blood, an exhilarating cordial of a 
pleafant flavour. The tender leaves, and 
flovv^ers efpecially, may be eaten raw> 
but the chief ufe of this mofl excellent 
herb is well known to be in cool tan- 
kards, which, like thofe of balm, are 
of known virtue to revive the hypo- 
condraiC;, and cheers the hard ftudent. 



There 



7he Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 299 

There are three or four fpccies of thi3 its kinds, 
herb, that are to be found in owxiEng- 
lifh Herbalsy ^uiz. hor. hort. flore caruleo-, 
Ger. p. 797- blue flower'd garden bor- 
rage^ which changes fometimes to red 5 
this is the chief in the refrigerating cup 5 
bor. hort. flore albo^ Ger. ibid, white flow- ^ 
cr'd garden borrage , borrago femper vi- 
vens^ Ger. ibid. Tark. 249. ever-living 
borrage : borr. minor herbariorum^ Vark, 
p. 766. fymphytum parvum borraginis 
faciCy Ger. p. 806. fmall creeping bor- 
rage 5 all of them of fingular ufe for 
the purpofes before-mentioned. 

They are raifed by feed fown in March:, Method of 
as all others of this clafs are, bat require 
the befl: foil you can fovv^ them in, to 
make them large and full of juice. 

Buglofs, the btiglojjum of the herba- Ofbugiofs, 
rifts, {quia figurat linguam bovis) from 
its fimilitude to an oxe's tongue, as they 
fet down*, it is in nature much like 
borrage, yet fomething (as Mr. Evelyn 
fays) more aftringent, the flowers, with 
the entire plant, being greatly reftora- 

* BuglofTum a fimilitudine folioriim di6lum eft, quas 
turn figura fua, turn fcabritie, linguam bubulam repre- 
fentat, Raii Hijl. Plant, lib, lo. cap, 4. 493. 



tive. 



30O The Tracfical Kitchen Gardiner, 

tive, and much commended by Averroes\ 
for its wonderful effeds in cherifhing 
the fpirits; and therefore (as that Jabori- 
ous author has it) judly called euphrofy- 
mm ; and others will have it the ne- 
penthes of Homer. It's ufed in the fame 
manner, and to the fame purpofes as 
borrage is. 

Our Englijh hcrbarifts mention and 
figure three kinds of this plant, of like 
virtue with one another, viz. the bu- 
glojjlm vulgar ey of Gerard, p, 798. or 
minus fativum, of Tarkinfon, p. 767. 
common garden buglofs 3 buglojftim fylv. 
mimtSy Ger. />. 799. ^ark. 765. fmall 
wild buglofs ; buglojfum luteum, Ger. 
p. 798. Tark.p. ^^6. lang de beefe j all 
which are to be found growing in gar- 
dens, or otherwife more open and wild 
in all common fields. 

It is railed by feed fown in good 
ground, in March or April, and wherein 
the wild kind conies of its own accord 
it is a certain fign of good land. 
Of orach Orach, the artiplex of the Latins, as 
andbiite. Evclju fcts down, is vcry cooling, 
allaying the pituite humours 5 being fet 
over the fire, neither this nor lettuce 
need any other water than their own 

moifture 



The T radical Kitchen Gardiner, 301 

Bioifture to boil them in, without ex- 
prcffion : the leaves, when tender, are 
mix'd with faileting, but the chief ufe 
of this is in pottage ^ as is the blite^ 
blitum^ I^AyiTovj quod eft iners & infipiduWy 
from its innocence in all its ufes. 

To the fame purpofes alfo might hzOfmarum, 
brought the marum fyr, vulg, the herb 
maftick 5 but of a terrible intoxicating 
madning quality, whofe ufes I fliall leave 
to all curious and careful cooks, and 
conclude this clafs of plants with an ac» 
count of 

Sage, the falvia of the antients [quodof fage. 
ad multa prafertim ad facunditatem fa- 
lutaris Jit) fay fome ingenious botanifts, 
of fo great efficacy in life that Mr. Eve- 
lyn, in Acetaria^ p.6\. tells us, the 
affiduous ufe of it is faid to render men 
immortal. Its properties are hot and 
dry, and retain all that is noble in o- 
ther hot plants, more efpecially for the 
head, memory, eyes, and all paralytica! 
cafes. 

Our Herbals have given the figure and 
defcription of eight kinds of this won- 
derfully ufeful plant, viz, the falvia a- 
greftis five fcorodonia, or wood fage, 
Ger, f, 66z. Tark, /. 11 1. falvia ma- 



302 Tke TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 

jor vulgaris^ common garden fage, Ger. 
^.764. Tark. falvia major verfi- 

color, Tark. ibid, falvia variegata eleganSy 
ftrip'd fage, Ger. ibid, falvia minor y Ger. 
ibid, falvia minor pinnata, Tark, p. 50. 
fmall fage, or fage of virtue, falvia 
maxima latif crifpa, Tark, p, 49. great 
white curled fage 5 falvia abfintkitesy 
Ger, p,'76\, falvia minor altera fore ru- 
broy ^Park. p, $0, wormwood fage; fal- 
via fruticofa lute a anguftifolia five Thlo- 
mis LycbnitiSy Park, p. 51. narrow leav'd 
yellow fage 5 falvia fruticofa littea latif, 
five verbafcum fjlveflre, Tark,p. 52. ver- 
bafcim mathioliy Ger, p. 767. French 
fage. 

All thcfe fages arc raifed by flips, fet 
in the latter end of Marchy or begin- 
ning of Aprily in raoift weather. 
Of ?nifif. Mint, otherwife fpear-mint, the an- 
tient menthay or in a more modern dia- 
led, the angiiflifolia fpicata, is one of 
the moft generally ufeful herbs, both in 
the kitchen and dillillary, of any the 
garden produces, and is for that reafon 
here placed to bring up the rear of this 
cla fs. 

Its proper- Mr. Evclyn, in his Acetariay p, 39- 
fays of it, that it is dry and warm, very 

fragrant^ 



The ^raBical Kitchen Gardiner, 303 

fragrant, and, a little prefs'd, is friendly 
to a weak ftomach, and powerful a- 
gainft all nervous crudities 5 and there- 
fore very ufeful both in the kitchen and 
diftillary. 

There are nine forts of mint, thzt Its kinds. 
have been long cultivated in our Eng- 
lip gardens, which our Herbals have fi- 
gufd and defcrib'd, viz. mentha Roma- 
nay Ger. 6 So. mentha fativa, Tark. 
/>. 48 1 . true fpear-mint 5 mentha cardiaca, 
heart mint, Ger, p, 680. Tark, 31. 
mentha crijpa, curled mint, 7ark. p. 12, 
in all pottages not to be excluded out 
of the garden catalogue of herbs ; the 
mentha crifpa T>anica five Germanica 
fpeciofa, Tark. ibid, great curled mint 
of Germany ? mentha cruciata, Tark. ib, 
Ger. 6^0. crofrcrmint5 mentaftrum,Ger, 
/>. 684. mentaftrum hortenfe five mentha 
fjlvefiris:, Tark. p. z^. horfemintj men- 
taftrum niveum anglicum, party-colour d 
mint, Ger. p. 684. Tark. p. ^^.mentajlrum 
fore violaceOy Cat. Hort.Bot. Ox. p. 108. 
violet flower'd horfe mmi ymenth a aq. ru- 
bra five fyjimbrium, red water mint, Ger. 
j>. 689. Tark.p. i2^s. are all of them cul- 
tivated and grow v/ell in gardens ; but 
there is another kind of mint, of which 
2 there 



304 T^he TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

there is fome now to be had (however ill 
cultivated at prefent) in the phyfick gar- 
den at Oxford, and in fome other places, 
called the pepper mint, on account of 
an agreeable predominancy there is of 
that fpicy quality more in this than the 
other kinds ; the water of which is much 
finer and more virtuous than any of the 
other kinds of mint water , the firft time 
I ever tafted it was in the laboratory of 
that truly ingenious and laborious culti- 
vater of flowers, exoticks, and other cu- 
riofities, the late Mr. Harris of Henly ; 
which I mention the more in that I 
would recommend it to the care and 
cultivation of all gardiners, houfekecp- 
crs, and ingenious ladies, previous to 
all the other fpecies of this common, but 
ufcful herb. 

It is well known to be very eafily 
propagated by its own ftringy roots, 
which, hydra- like, will fpring, cut it 
off or to pieces ever fo muchj fuch a 
plafticity there is in its nature, that no- 
thing but balm can pretend to the like. 
^bafil To thefe foupe or pottag,e herbs, I 
add, tho' mention'd by no author that I 
have feen, the bafil, fo neceflary in the 
heightning all foupes, ragoos and fauces, 

that 



ne Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 30 

that few cooks care to be without it, 
both whilft it is green, and whiift it is 
dry. 

Of this ocimum, the ^Jjcz/^ci/ of TDiofc. Derha 
lib. 2. cap. lyi, a celeritate proveniendi^^'^"' 
dicitUTy as our oft-quoted etymoiogifts 
tell 5 there was but one fpecies mention- 
ed by Tarkinfon and Gerard, viz. oci- 
mum vulgar ey Tark. p. 19- ocmum mag- 
numy Ger. p. 673. the ordinary broad- 
leav'd bafil, which is indeed the mod 
ufed in pottage, foupes, &c. tho' there 
is another fmall-leav'd kind that cuts 
very fine with the fciffars. 

This herb is of a moft exhilarating 
nature, and the greatefl inciter to vene- 
real embraces of any that grows in the 
garden, provided it be ufed in a proper 
quantity. 

The feeds arc fowed on a hot-bed in 
Aprily and tranfplanted into a good foil, 
flourilh with us in England very well;, 
tho' it be of a foreign extradion. There 
is alfo another fmaller-leav'd kind, as 
before mention d, ufeful for all pottages 
and culinary ufes, as \^ ell as to fet in 
ladies chambers. 

They are both raifed from feed fown 
at one and the fame time, and in the 
X fame 



306 The TraEilcal Kitchen Gar diner. 

fame manner, viz,, any time in February 
or March, on hot- beds, and tranfplanted 
out amongfl other annuals. 
Oftanfy. Tanfy, tanacetum, the derivation of 
which our modern botanifls don't define, 
is hot and cleanfuig, which in regard 
that its tafte is a little too predominant, 
and fo not admitted in raw or boil'd 
fallets, but fryed with other herbs, fuch 
as fpinach, green-corn, violet and prim- 
rofe leaves, e>r. and mix'd with flower 
and eggs ; and then fryed brown, is eaten 
hot, with the juice of orange and fu- 
gar, being, as our oft-quoted author ob- 
serves, one of the moft agreeable of our 
herbaceous difnes. 
Of its Herbariils mention three or four fpe- 
kinds. cies Qf this plant, which are the tanace- 
turn VTilgare, or common tanfy 5 tana- 
cetum crtfpum, or curled tanfy 5 and the 
tanacetum Indictimy or unfavory tanfy 5 
all to be found in Gerard, p. 650. and 
in Tarkinfon, /. 8 1 . as alfo a ilrip'd kind, 
being the tanacetum ^variegatum of Tar- 
kinfon, p. pradiEi. 

It is propagated either by feeds or flips, 
tranfplanted or fown in the latter end 
of March, or the beginning of yiprih 
and v/ill flourifli almofl: in any foil. 

Coaft- 



"Xhe TraEtical Kitchen Gardiner. 307 

Coaftmary, the balfamita of the bota- 0/ coaji^ 
nifts, ab odore balfamino dl^ia^ as the la- ^''^^n- 
borious Stephens and Brown affure uS;, is 
an excellent balfamick, healing herb $ and 
tho' not much ufed in the kitchen, is 
endued with wonderful properties in 
pharmacy and phyfick 5 for which rea- 
fon it ought to have room in the gar- 
den. There is but one fort figufdj, 
which is the balfamita mas, or male bal- 
fam, Ger.p. 648. or otherwife, the cof- 
tus hortorum major of Tarkinfon, 78, 
the common coaftmary. 



SECT. VII. CHAP. LVIII. 

Of fuch herbs as are required to be raif 
ed in a garden, for the ufe of a labo- 
ratory:, diftillary, dec. 

THere are at leaft twelve forts of 
this thiftle, that have been long 
cultivated in our Englifh gardens, the 
chief of which are the cardmis benedic^ 
tus, or the blelTed thiftle, Ger, p.wjii 
7 ark, 957. fo well known for its 
wonderful operation in all emetics, that 
I need not prefume to trouble my reader 
with any large account of it, \^hich it 
X 2 would 



The TraEikal Kitchen Gardiner. 

would deferve 5 the happy efFeds it has 
oil every conftitution being fufficient to 
exalt its praife more than all I can fay 
in its recommendation. But there is al- 
fo another kind, caird carduus Maria 
'Vulgaris, or common ladies thiftle 5 
which whether it was fo named by the 
votaries of the Roman church, or on 
any other account, I am not at prefent 
able to determine 5 but is, on account 
of its laftefcent quality, as well as its 
fine variegated leaves, admitted into the 
mofl: curious gardens j as is alfo another 
of this kind, with white flowers, called 
in the Oxford catalogue, p,i%, carduus 
Maria 'Vulgaris laEieiis flore albo, white 
flower'd ladies thiftle 5 to which may be 
added, the carduus lafleus fyriacus Cam. 
Bauhinus in T^inace^ p, 381. the carduus 
mofchata, or musk thiftle, Ger. p. 1 1 74, 
"^ark.p.g 5 8. carduus folftitialis ^DodoneuSy 
Ger. p. 1 1 66. Tark, /. 989. St. Barnabfs 
thiftle 5 the carduus aculeatus, being the 
chardon j the carduus ftellaris vulgaris j 
7 ark. ibid. Ger. ibid, and carduus polya" 
canthoSy or thiftle upon thiftle, are alfo 
admitted into the garden for variety j 
tho' we chiefly raifc the firft kinds, on 
account of the extraordinary cffeds it 
has^ as before mention d. Thefe 



The Tra6iical Kitchen Gardiner, 309 

Thefe thiftles are all rais'd by feed, 
which is fown in Aprils and may either 
be tranfplanted out^, or let ftand, as you 
fliall fee fit. 

Angelica {ob angelicas & injtgnes ejusofange- 
virtutes Jic diEia) fay the writers of bo- 
tany> of which they have given the fi- 
gures and defcriptions of four kinds, 
all of them poflefs'd with the fame good 
properties, but the garden kind the beft, 
'viz. angelica fativa^ Ger.p, 999. Tark. 
p. 919' garden angelica; angelica fylve f- 
triSy 'Park. p. 9^1. wild angelica 5 arch- 
angelica-, Ger. p. 1000. Park. p. 9^0. or 
great wild angelica j angelica lucida 
canadenfis cornutifoUo fplendentCy TarL 
p'75:> and 949. fhining angelica. 

This very ufeful herb is propagated 
by the parting the roots, which is ef- 
feded with great eafe, in Februarjy 
Marchy April, or any of the fpring or 
winter months. 

Balm, the melijfa of the antients, and Of balm. 
whofe happy cffeds has been long ago 
celebrated by the beft pens, is another 
very ufeful herb in the phyfick garden 
and diftillary, (ire, it is, as Mr. Evelyn 
obferves, hot and dry, cordial and ex- 
hilarating, fovereign for the brain, 
X 3 ftrength- 



3 1 o The Tradiical Kitchen Gardiner, 



ftrengthiiing the memory, and power- 
fully chafing away melancholy. Befides 
the ufes it has in the laboratory and 
diftillary, the fprigs frefh gather'd and 
put into wine, or other drinks, during 
the heat of fummer, gives it (as Mr. 
Evelyn obferves) a marvellous quicknefs, 
and yields an incomparable flavour, made 
as is that of cowflip flowers. The me- 
lijfaj alias apiaftruniy as Diofcorides has 
it, lib, 3. cap. 118. fjLiXlrlcii, quod hac 
apes deleBantur, as affording great quan- 
tity of juice, for bees to make their ho- 
ney of 

Authors that have writ on this fub- 
Jeft have figur'd and defcrib'd three kinds, 
which have alfo been cultivated in the 
phyfick garden at Oxford,md other places, 
vi:^, melijffa ^vulgaris, common balm, 
Ger.p.dSg. Tark. 40. meliffa turcica 
fore alhoy Turkey balm with white flow- 
ers; ut in pradi^, autkoribus, meltjT^y 
molucca levisy fmooth Molucca balm, 
Ger,p.69i. Tark. p.\z. 

This extraordinary herb is well known 
to be propagated by the fl:ringy roots, 
of which it has innumerable quantities 
%% the mint: has. 



To 



The Tra^iical Kitchen Gardiner, 3 r i 

To the laft might alfo be re-addcd 
mint 5 but that is already treated of in 
this fedion. 

Fenugreek, or f£nimgr£cum, by the 0/ fanu- 
Greeks called yji^ooTiq {quia Jiliqu£ funt greet 
corniculis fimiles) is an herb admitted 
into our little phyfick garden, for many 
ufes too long here to name ; and is cal- 
led fanum gr^ctm by Gerard^ p. 1196. 
and f£num fativum, by Tarkinfon, p, 

I09<5. 

Next to this, let us alfo add the dill, o/^///: 
the anethum of antiquity, a curious aro- 
matick, very much ufed by the cook in 
pickling 5 as alfo by the houfe-keeper 
and phyfician, in very many cafes that 
lie within their refpeclive provinces j fo 
called from cli'yj^zt'/j, coitio Deneveay to 
which the antients flippos'd it was a 
great inciter 5 neverthelefs, fuch was the 
ill efFeds of it, that the too frequent ufe 
of it was very prejudicial to thofe that 
ufed it. There is but one kind that 
our Herbals have taken notice of, tho' 
it paffes under two names (fomething 
different and enlarged) by our Englijh 
writers of herbs, Gerard, 1033. cal- 
ling it only anethtm 5 but TarkinfoUy 
p, 8 8(5. anetktimhortenfe fivevulg, com- 
mon garden dill, X 4 The 



512 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 



Of the The poppy, papaver y is alfo an annual 
f^PPy- that is fown in the phyfick garden, on 

account of its many very extraordinary 

qualities. 

The derivation of the word papaver 
is from ixy^acov a fj.'/i zivciv, qtiod ejus ufus 
vimitm infrigidet flnpore^n adferat^ as 
the editors of the Oxford catalogue teli 
us. There are three fpecies of this pop- 
py, that are of ufe in the purpofes we 
are now upon, viz. papaver Rkaas, 
Ger.p.^7^- Tark.s66. red poppy, or 
corn-rofe 5 but this fprings up as it were 
fpontaneoufly amonglf corn, and is what 
in the country they call red weed, on 
account of its red flowers, and which is 
indeed almoft, if not quite, equal to any 
of the others (that growing in Turkey 
excepted) the gardiner need not trouble 
himfelf with the raifing it in the gar- 
den. 

The two other kinds are the papaver 
cornictdatum lateum, and papaver corni-- 
adattm rubritm, the yellow and red 
horned poppies, figur'd and defcrib'd by 
Gerardy p. ^77- and Tarkinfon, p. 262. 
which require to be fown in the fpring, 
as others of this clafs do. There is al- 
fo a fniall kind that makes a pretty fi- 

gurc 



The ^raBlcd Kitchen Gardiner^ 



313 



gure in the parterre, tho' of little ufe 
here. 

The carraway, called alfo by the La- ofthecar- 
tins"^ carum, from carta, a country ^^^^J' 
where it grows fpontaneoufly, ^s^iof-^^^^' 
corides witneffes, is an herb that the di- 
ligent houfewife and houfekeeper ufe in 
all their comfits, as the feed docs indeed 
adminifter the moft refined aromatick 
tafte of any herb or feed yet men- 
tion'd. 

It is raised of feed fow'd in March or 
jipril, as other plants of this kind are. 
And to this may be alfo added, the a- 
nife, qtiia folia profert admodum inequa- 
lia, fay the botanifts. 

The coriander, or yLo^m of the anti- Of cori- 
ents, quia folia & caules ejus cimicem 
olentj qui tcc^vg vocatur, fay the ingeni- 
ous editors of the Oxford catalogue. 

Wormwood, abfinthiumy called a^-Of worm' 
'il^lvdiov, quajt cl7riv6iovy by the antients, be-^'^^^- 
caufe of its ungrateful tafte 5 from whence, 
fay our oft-quoted authors f Stephens 

* Carum ab infula caria derivatur, ut vult ^ Plinius^ 
lib. 19. cap. 8. 

f Quanquam pofterioribus feculis abfinthium venit in 
ufum. yid. Cat. Hort. Botan. Oxm. p. z. Juh titulo A. 

and 



3 14 TraEtical Kitchen Gardiner, 

and Browny wormwood drink came in 
ufc in after-ages. 

This herb is raifed by feed, but as it 
grows naturally in all places where old 
buildings have been pulled down, little 
trouble is required, efpecialJy as to the 
common fort. 

But there are fome others that Gerard 
and Tarkinfon have fet down, that for 
variety may claim a place in the phyfick 
garden, viz. abfinthiim tenuifol. ponti- 
cum Galeni, Ger, p. 1096. Jive Roma- 
mm vulgar e, TarL p.gS. Roman worm- 
wood 5 abfinthiim auftriacum, Ger. p, 
1098. Vark.p.99' Auftrian wormwood 5 
abfinthium maritimum lavendtiU foliOy 
7 ark. p. 102. or artemifii marinum^^ 
Ger. p. 1104. lavender- leaf *d worm- 
wood. For the abfinthium marinumj &e. 
I refer to the fea-fhores. 

I fhall conclude this clafs, and confe- 
quently this treatife, with four forts of 
herbs more, that are unavoidably to be 
entertain d in this colledion, being for 
their ufes to human bodies fcarce pa- 
ralleird by any that have as yet been 
named, viz. elecampane and rhubarb. 
Ofekcam- Elecampane, or enula campanUy iAivtov, 
was fo denominated from Helena^ that 

^ firft 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 3 1 % 

firft found out the efficacy of it againfl: 
poifon, as antient authors affirm, or as 
* Mr. Raj fets down, that it fprang from 
the tears of that remarkable lady, and 
for that rcafon had in great efteem in 
the ifland fo calFd. 

Gerard and Varkinfon mention hMt its name^ 
one kind, in which they are both agreed 
as to its name, it being the enula cam- 
fana five Helenium of them both. Vid. 
Ger. TarL p. 654. Elecampane 

is propagated by the feparation or part- 
ing the roots. 

Rhubarb, the Rhubarbum of the her- of rhu' 
barifts, is propagated in the fame man- ^"^^^^ 
ner as the aforegoing. Its derivation 
does not appear by any books I have 
feen 5 neither have I leifure at this time 
to enquire into it; there is but one fort 
in our Engliflf Herbals, but the kind that 
is tranfported from beyond fea is by our 
apothecaries and druggifts accounted the 
beft. 

Lavender, lavendula-, quia baheis (d' Of laven- 
Idvacris expetatur^ as our writers on bo- . 

* Elecampane, Helenium, 'EAma? quod a lachrymis 
Helenae natum dicatur & ideo in Helena inliila laudatiffi- 
mum effc perhibetur, 



tany 



The Tra6tical Kitchen Gardiner. 

tany have it, is admitted into the phy- 
fick and kitchen garden, on account of 
jfcveral ufes the houfekeeper puts it to. 
The lavender is of three feveral branches 
or diftindions, viz, lavendula or ftachaSy 
fweet lavender, or the jagged kind 5 and 
the * abrotanum-, which is a green kind, 
but more phyfical than any of the for- 
mer 5 the catalogues of which feveral di- 
vifions I fhall here infert, for the bene- 
fit of all gardiners that are learners in 
botany, referring them, as I have done 
all along, to the Herbals of our own 
country 5 lavendula jlore alboy white 
fiower'd lavender, Ger. p. 584. 73- 
lavendula minor Jive fpicay fmall laven- 
der fpike, in pag. pr^diB. lavendula jlore 
caruleOy Ger.p, 583. major vulgaris jp, 7 3 . 
common lavender 5 lavendula folio mul- 
tijidoy p, 71. jlachas multijiday jagg'd- 
leav'd jlachaSy or lavender ; abrotanum 
mas vulgar e J Ger. p.\io$, Tark. 92. 
common lavender fouthernwood 5 abro- 
tanum fam. vulgar ey p. 95. chemicypa- 
riJJiaSy Ger. p. 1109. lavender cotton ; 
abrotanum inodorum campejlte^ Ger. 

* Abrotanum it^^orem ab cs, pr. & /S^or®- quia tota 
fere hieme virent folia. Cata/. Hort. Botan. Oxon. p. 
fab titulo A. 

/.1 106. 



TChe Tragical Kitchen Gardiner] 3 1 7 



j^.i 106. Vark.p. 94. wild fouthernwood 5 
abrotanum f^m. ericafoliis, p. 96. an- 
guentaria lutetianoruniy Bauh, in Tinace^ 
^.137. fine lavender cotton. 

StsEchas, or ftichadorey fo called from 0/ jia^ 
an ifland of that name in the region of 
Maffllia, where it grows. There are 
three or four kinds cultivated in gar- 
dens, 'viz, ftachas ^vulgaris., 7 ark, p. 67. 
ftachas Jive Jpica hortulana^ Ger.p.s%$. 
ordinary French lavender, or ftickadove $ 
ftachas fummis cauliculis nudiSy Ger. 
p, 586. long-leav'd ftickadove 5 and 7?^- 
chas multifiday Ger.p.$%$. jagged ftick- 
adove. 

The fcurvygrafs, the cocblearia oi t\\tOffcuw 
Latins y is fo termed, as Mi, Ray y in his .^^^A 
Hiftory of TlantSy fays, without doubt, 
from the refemblance the leaf has to a 
cockle-fhell 5 forma modice cava cochleare ^ 
arc his words, lib. 16. cap, 3. p, 822. 
and tho' it be an herb that is little ufed 
in the kitchen or diftillary, I thought it 
proper to infert it here, on account of 
its excellent ufes in all medicinal drinks, 
C^r. though the Fmall tops may be ufed, 
when very young, in raw fallets. There 
are three kinds which are cultivated in 
our i5?ig-///?7 gardens^ viz, cochlear, vulg, 

Tark. 



$ I S The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

Turk, p. 285. common fcurvygralisj 
cochL Britannica^ Ger,p,^oi, cochL ma- 
jor rotundif, Turk. p. z%j, Ger. p. 40 1 . 
great round-leaved fcurvygrafs 5 cochL 
minima rotundif, TarLp. 22,6. all which 
are raifed by feed, fown under a fhady 
North wall mjlpril^ or it will grow in 
more open ground. 
Of rue. Rue, ruta, of Greek original, as 

ofcorides and others ajffirm 5 of which 
there are two kinds, propagated fome- 
times by feeds, but generally by flips, 
fet in April':, the two kinds are, rut a 
hort. Ger, 1255. or rut a hott. major. 
7 ark. p.iiiy rut a capraria Jive galega^ 
Gmi253. Tark.p,^\7. of which there 
is both a purple and white flower 5 but 
this is not of that account as the other, 
nor likewife are fome other kinds of 
it. 

It is an excellent herb in all peftilen- 
tial cafes, and a great clearer of the fight, 
according to that Salernian verfe, 

Nobilis eft rut a 

^ia lumina reddit acuta. 

And fo great a prcferver of health, when 
drank together with fage in wine, that 

the 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 3 1 9 



the fame fchool fays alfo of it, in all 
contagious times, 

, .falvia cum rut a 

Faciunt tibi ^ocula tutci—^ 

Camomil, cham^meluniy z^f^^-'^f^^i^^v^o/ tams- 
quia capita femijphierica {quibus flores^'"^^- 
nafcuntur) odorem mali cidonii quadante- 
nus £mulantiir. Cat. Hort. Botan. Oxon. 
p. 46. fubtituloC. is a very ufeful herb, 
and that fhould not be omitted in this 
lift, both for its ufes in the kitchen, but 
much more for the laboratory, where 
its flowers are in the higheft efteem, as 
participating of fome of the noble pro- 
perties of the quince, which gives the 
name ^jJacv to it. 

There are three kinds that have been 
fome time cultivated with us, 'viz. the 
chamamelum "jidg. Ger. p-js^. Tark, 
f>. Ss. chamamelum flor. plenOy double 
camomil, Ger. p.jss. 7ark.p.%9^ and 
the chamamelum midtm, in pag.pr^dl^* 
of Gerard and Tarkinjon, 

To conclude : Many and wonderful 
are the virtues and propeT:ties of plants, 
that the garden and field produces, both 
for the divertifement and the prefervation 
4 of 



3 20 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 



of life 5 and tho' I don't pretend to fet 
up for a phyfician, or prefcriber of re- 
medies, yet I can't finifh this feclion 
without fetting down a moft excellent 
receipt for a fever, ^^hich will in a great 
meafure illuftrate what I have before af- 
ferted, relating to the univerfal benefit 
that accrues to mankind from the bo- 
tanick garden and diftillary. 

An excellent fever water. By a lady. 



Ake of coltsfoot fix handsful, of 



fcabious three handsful, of wood- 
betony two handsful, fpear-mint two 
handsful, and red rofe-buds, the whites 
being cut out, two handsful ; wipe all 
thefe herbs, then take of liverwort three 
great handsful, well wafh'd and pick'd, 
garden-fnails, well wip'd and bruis'd, 
fliells and all together, fourfcore 5 of 
orris-roots beaten to powder,three drams; 
flired the herbs, and, with the fnails, put 
them into a gallon of new milk, ftrew- 
ing the powder amongft them 5 ftir them 
all together, putting them into a diftil 5 
let all ftand covered a whole night, and 
in the morning diftil it with a gentle 
fire 5 not ufing it till it is a fortnight 




4 



old. 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner, 5 2 1 

old, and then it is a moft excellent fe* 
brifuge. 

You mufl give the fick party, if a man, 
nine fpoonfuls, fwcetned with a little 
lugar, warm, the laft thing at night, and 
firfl: in the morning fafdng 5 if a wo- 
man, fevcn fpoonfuls 5 if a child, five 
fpoonfuls; if an infant, three fpoonfuls, 
at night only ; and if the party wants 
fleep, fweetcn it with fyrup of red pop- 
pies. It may alfo be given to a womaa 
in child-bed with great fafety. 

SECT. VIII. CHAP. LIX. 
Of the mtijhroom. 

TH E mufhroom, or more properly 
moufcheroon, from a kind of a 
faint, difagrceable, musky fmell; by the 
French-, champignons^ muft not be omit- 
ted in this treatife of kitchen garden- 
ing, havuig been of old exalted to the 
fecond courfe of the C^farian tables ; 
and, as Mr. Evelyn obferves, ennbbled 
with the title of b^^^cj, a/^v, a dainty fit 
for the gods. Thefe fungi have their 
original, as Mr. i?^, in his Hiftorj of 
TlmtSy lib. 2. p. 84. teUs us, from fu- 
Y nus 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner, 



nus and ago^ importing a kind of ma- 
lignancy that is in thole that arc un- 
eatable, (being the true boletus of the 
Rofnans) by which many have been poi- 
fon'd and brought to their funuSy or fu- 
neral pile ; amongft which was the em- 
peror Claudius himfelf, who, as Sueto- 
nius tells us, was a great lover of them, 
but by the management of the famous 
Agrippina^ in order to make way for 
Nero to the throne, was poilbn'd by them, 
of wiaich Juvenal has it, Sat. 6. 

=- — Tremulumque caput defcendere jujjit 
In c(elum 

And Kircher^ in his treatife ^e pefle, as 
the aforefaid Mr. Ray obferves, fays of 
them, that whoever eats them ought al- 
ways to be aware of its deadly qualities, 
and as it were prepar'd for tiieir latter 
end 5 let me give it in his own words, 
fungus qualifcunque Jit femper malignus, 
femper exitialium qualitatum apparatu 
inftruBus, crc. 

But notwithftanding the fevere in- 
vedlives the authors aforementioned (and 
before them Vliny and others) have made 
againft them, there are fome of thefe 

fpecies 



The ^raEiic(il Kitchen Gardiner. 3 2 3 

fpecies that are to be eaten with plea- 
fure, as may be feen in Gerardy lib, 3. 
cap. 167. and in Tarkmfin, lib. 14, cap. 
62. befidcs many other kinds in the two 
Bauhimts's, Clujius, id-c. but I rather re- 
fer my reader to the kinds mentioned by 
our own countrym.an Gerard^ in liis ex- 
cellent treatife of plants. 

The good ones are called by the ge- 
neral name of fungi vulgatijjmi efcu- 
lenti the figures of which Gerard has 
given in the aforefaid chap. p. 1579- and 
on the other fide^ thofe that are dc^tdly^ 
which are difcover'd by their ihape or 
colour, being generally yellow, and in 
the form of a buckler ; whilfl: thofe 
that are good are of a v/hite colour, 
and round as a ball or cufliion 5 but for 
the better underftanding of this, I refer 
my reader to the before-mention'd Her- 
bal. 

The bcft eatable mufhrooms grow in 
dryiOi upland pafture ground, in fheep- 
walks and cow-downs, and are much 
better than thofe that grow in the (hade 
in moory boggy places 5 or under the 
bodies of old trees, which are general- 
ly poifonous, according to that of Ho- 
race^ 

Y 2 Tratm- 



3 24 7he TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 



Tratenfibus optima fungis 
Natura ejt, aliis male creditur. 

Mr. Ray, in his Hiftory of TlaJits, 
lib. 2. mentions no lefs than twenty four 
different kinds of this efculent mufh- 
room, which grow in other countries, 
fome of them of a very large dimenfion, 
all which might be propagated by the 
methods hereafter to be fet down , but 
there is one particular kind that was 
brought to light by that great difcoverer 
of vegetative nature, Dr. Martin Lifter , 
in that part of the country of Tork cal- 
led Craven 5 in fylvis martonenfibus prope 
ftagnum Tinno di6ium, are his words ; 
which is by Job. Batihintis called the 
ftingiis piper atiis albus laEieo fiicco tur- 
gens, or the milky pepper mufhroom 5 
and by the long defcription that great 
naturalift gives, is a moft excellent kind, 
and poflefs'd with all the good qualities 
that can be found in a mufhroom 5 par- 
ticularly that it never changes its co- 
lour in boiling, (^c, which is an induce- 
ment fufficient to procure the earth, and 
raife them elfewhere, as fhall be here- 
after defcribed. 

SECT. 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 



325 



SECT. VIII. CHAP. LX. 



Of the methods of raijtng mujhrooms. 




H E methods of raiCng munirooms Lord Ba^ 



Bacon, in \\\^ Natural Hift or y, CentNL^^^firoomsi 
Exp. s^7, 548, 549. relates from report, 
that the bark of white or red poplar 
(which are of the moifteft trees) cut fmall 
and cafl: into furrows well dung'd, will 
caufe the ground to put forth muni- 
rooms all the feafons of the year, fit to 
be eaten 5 and that fome add to the mix- 
ture leaven of bread diifoived in water. 
As alfo, that if a hilly field where the 
ftubble is {landing be fet on fire, in all 
fliowry feafons it will put forth great 
ftore of mufhrooms. To which he adds, 
but it is upon report likewife, that harts- 
horn fhaven into fmall pieces, rnix'd 
with dung, and watered, putteth up 
mufhrooms 5 and we know, fays he, that 
hartshorn is of a fat clammy fubftance^ 
and it may be oxhorn would do the 



like. 



Y 3 



The 



3 26 The Tra5fical Kitchen Gardiner. 

Other ex- The fame author, in his S^6th Ex- 
periments p^Yitnent before-^oins;, complains that 

ofthefamel . r \ r n 

author, the quautics or theie mulnrooms are apt 
to fufrocate and cmpoifon, and that they 
lie heavy at the ftomach, and are the 
caufe of what he calls the inciihiSy or 
night mare. 

But to purfue the pradice of raifing 
niufhrooms j we find the antient pradice 
of our gardiners has been only to make 
hot beds, or rather to exped them to 
grow naturally on cold beds 5 by which 
they appear to fpring from the old mouldy 
dung, as they do in commons and upland 
fields, from thofe circular trads of moul- 
dy earth that are there found, called by 
fome the fairy dances. 

And thefe old beds, w^ien they are 
watered with water wherein mufhrooms 
have been wafh'd, will produce an in- 
numerable quantity for fome months to- 
gether. And to this may be added, 
what I have feen in fome old books of 
gardening, that beds made of old dry 
mouldy hay, thatch, or mufty dung, and 
watered as you miake it up, will raife 
mufhrooms very well. 

French But the French (and amongfl: them Mr. 

Z'lifing^ T^^l^^^intinye) are generally fo curious 

mufhrooms, m 



The TraEitcal Kitchen Gardiner, ^27 

in this, that they make beds there to 
fcrve for mufhrooms in all feafons of 
the year 5 though they cut not till about 
three months after they are made, and 
that is when their great heat is fpent, 
and the beds are grown mouldy within. 
Thefe fort of beds are made in new and 
fandy ground, in which is made a trench 
of about fix inches, as Mr. Evelyn tranf- 
lates 5 but I fuppofe rather two or three 
foot deep. Then they cover them with 
a layer of about three or four inciies of 
the fame mold. They are raifed in the 
form of an afs's back 5 and over the co- 
vering of earth they lay another of five 
or fix inches of long dry dung, which 
ferves in winter to Ihelter the mufli- 
rooms from the froft, which deftroys 
them i and in the fummer from the great 
heat that broils them , and likewife, to 
prevent the mifchievous effeds of thofe 
heats, they further take care to water 
them gently twice or thrice a v/eek, 
Thofe beds that are for mufnrooms are 
made under ground, as Mr. De la ^i?i- 
tinye obferves, but thofe that are for 
melons, (^c. above; but he adds not 
any thing concerning the watering them 
with mufhroom or warm water. 

Y 4. But 



J 28 The TraB'tcal Kitchen Gardiner, 

r,r^ltaiian But Mr. EvelyYi tells us, that at Na- 
method cfpi^^ ^-j^^y j^-^jf^ them artificially in their 

^y^rl/^/. wine cellars, upon a heap of rock earth, 
thrown upon a heap of old fungus's re- 
duced and compared to a ftony hardi- 
nefs, upon which they lay earth, and 
fprinkle it with warm water, in which 
mufhrooms have been fteep'd. And in 
France by making a bed of affes dung, 
and when the heat is in temper or is 
abated, watering it as above, with water 
well impregnated with the parings and 
offals of fungus's 5 and fuch a bed 
will laft three or four years. 

But more agreeable to reaibn (if it hits 
fo well in experience) is the method Mr. 
Bradley hints at, which I fhall produce 
in the laft place, being much to our pre- 
lent purpofe. By this it is (lays that in- 
genious author) that all lovers of mufh- 
rooms are to be reminded of looking 
out into the fields and upland meadows, 
where mulhrooms grow, under which 
they will find a fort of earth that is a- 
bout their roots, which is full of fine 
white fibres or threads, which have alfo 
fometimes white knots appearing, which 
contain all that is ncceffary for the pro- 
duction of mufhrooms, at any time of 

the 



The TraBicd Kitchen Gardiner. 329 

the year 5 and muft be kept dry till you 
ufe it on your mufhroom beds, for the 
white roots or fibres are To tender that 
they are apt to rot, if laid in moift 
places. The firft that fhew'd me this 
kind of earth, was Mr. Bradley^, who 
has alfo given fome account of it in 
his monthly experiments printed for Mr. 
Woodwardy bookfeller at the Half-moon 
near Temple-Bar , fmce which I have 
causd fome to be dug up, which have 
thofe fibres there mention d , but I have 
not yet had the opportunity of trying 
the experiment. 

This earth may. according to the ac- 
count I had of Mr. Bradley himfeJf, be 
kept for a twelvemonth together in large 
clods, in a dry room 5 and when you 
have a mind to plant any, put fome of 
the clods on your bed, and crumble 
them as gently as you can 5 after which 
cover it over about half an inch thick 
with good mold, and you may give the 
bed a gentle watering; which done, lay 
fome boughs of wood over the bed, and 
if there be any danger of froft, cover 
it with mats in the night. But you muft 
note, that a bed made roundifh is much 
projperer for this purpofe than one made 

flat, 



13© The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 

flat. The only misfortune that fpoils 
thefe mufhrooms, and which caufes them 
to eomc up in the fpring, or in autumn, 
much better than in the fummer and 
winter feafons, are the two extremities 
of heat and cold 5 on which account it 
is that the beds fhould lie round, to 
throw off all fuperfluous moifture in the 
rainy months 5 and fhould alfo be co- 
vefd over with fhort litter, to keep 
them cool, and from the too intenfe 
heat of the fun, as the praftice of Mr. 
Fairchild and others, on this head, con- 
firm. And if they be under a little 
fhade, where the glimmerings of the fun 
only come, 'tis ftill the better. 

SECT. VIII. CHAP. LXI. 

Of fubterraneoHS fungus's, or tubers, 

TH E fungus reticularis y of Mr. Eve- 
lyn^ is to be found about Ful- 
hanty and other places, particularly in 
a park of my Lord Cotton Sy at Rufbton 
or Rufhling in North amptanjhire $ and, 
as I have alfo been infornVd by a gardiner) 
at my Lord Cullen% from which place 
the prefent Duke of Montague has often 

4 had 



7he TraEtical Kitchen Gardiner. 3 3 1 

had them to Bowden ; which whether 
it be the fame place as the former, I am 
not certain, nor do I find any mention 
made in any of our EngUJh Herbalsy of 
them. 

The manner of finding them out in 
Ital)'y as Mr. Ray, in his Htftory ofTlants^ 
lib. z. p,\\i. as well as others that have 
travelled in thofe countries, tell us, is 
to tie a firing to the hinder leg of a 
fwine, which will fmell them out, and 
dig them up with his fnout. And I have 
been informed by a gentleman (how true 
it is I cannot tell) that the prefent king 
of Sardinia has a kind of dogs that do 
as it were fet them, and by making of 
a full flop give notice where they are to 
be digg'd for. In Italy they fry them 
with oil and vinegar, by which means 
they are very grateful to the tafte, as 
Menzeliits relates. He adds, that there 
is a kind of them that he obfcrv'd near 
Furjlenwaldy that rcfembled the teflicu- 
hr parts of a man, Jcroto denudatOy as 
he terms it. This, as well as the other 
kind, are very effeftive in venereal em- 
braces. \ 

It is pity that we can t as yet find 
out the method of propagating thefe fo 

much 



532 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

much defired difhcs 5 perhaps there might 
be a method of doing it by the pro- 
curing of the earth where they grow, 
which certainly contains fome feminalia 
or fragments of thofe tuberous roots 
which when tranfplanted out might grow 
with us, as many other things do, and 
particularly mufhroom.s. Mr. Ray fays 
of them, that the roots are of an un- 
equal globular figure 5 that they grow in 
fandy ground, and under trees, and that 
even in our country 5 but he docs not 
mention where. They are fometimes 
as big as a melon, being covered with 
a black skin, rough and full of clefts 
or furrows y the internal fubftance is of 
a milky colour, of a grateful taftc, and 
that the place of their growing is dif- 
covered by certain chafms or clefts, that 
are difcovered in the fuperficies of the 
earth. But I leave this account to fome 
farther trials, which I intend, God wil- 
ling, to make. 

In the mean time, beftdes the ufes of 
this root in cookery, I can't but obferve 
from Cardan-, in his book T^e varietate 
reruniy cap. 28. that when it is boil'd 
and ufed plaifterwifc, in all quinzies, 
and forenefs of the throat, that it has 

relicv'd 



The Tra6tical Kitchen Gardiner] 

reliev'd thofe that have been at the point 
of death. And Joh. Bauhinus^ torn. 3 . 
lib.^o. cap. 8.^. 851. mentions another 
excellent kind) which he calls tuberum 
genus y quibufdam cervi boletus-^ and C. 
BauhinuSy tuber a cervina > fabled to be 
rais'd from the genitals of a flag, to be 
found at Trenzinum, a noble city of 
Hungary. Which finiflics what I have 
at prefcnt to obferve under this head. 



333 



SECT. VIII. CHAP. LXIL 

A catalogue of feeds, plants, &c. for the 
ufe of the kitchen garden. 



Fruits. 



French^ melon 
Spanifh J 



Fibrous-rooted 
plants. 



Long 



Collyflower. 
English') 
T^utch ?■ cabbage. 
Short r-cucumber. Ruffia j 
Prickly J T>utch 
Calabafh. Yellow 
Citrul. Borecole. 
Gourd. Broccoli. 
Pumpion, Colewort, 



j>ravoy< 



Red 



334 



The TraEtical Kitchen Gardiner. 



Red p 
White >beet. 
Roman J 
Artichokes. 
Succory. 
Common) ^ 
^utch f^*^^^- 
S^ani^h J 

Seeds of efculent 
roots. 
Long p 
Round Sturnep. 
Yellow J 
French navew. 
Oran2;e-7 
Red }^^"°^- 
Swelling parfnips. 
Skirret. 
Scorzonera. 
Salfify. 
Potatoe. 
Strasburgh' 
Red Spa- 
nijb 

WhitCi^^- >qpion. 

nijb 
Englifh 
mich 



Londonl 
French i 



leek. 



•beans. 



Shallot. 
Garlick. 
Roccambo. 
Gives. 

Legumes of fever al 
kinds. 

Hotfpur 
Gofport or, 

Spanijh 
Sandwich ' 
Windfor 
Edwards^ 

early 
Flanders 

early 
Greens 

early 
Barns 
Long 

Readinz •> r 
Marrowfat/*^ 
Grey 
Blue 
Green 
White 

Large 



hotfpur 
peafe. 



rouncivals. 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 



lis 



Large white" 
Small white! 
Grey 
Dwarf 

Pcro- 

Sickle 

*Dutch ad- 
miral 

Winged 

Crown or 
rofe 

Large white' 

Small white, 

Speckled 



Salleting feeds, 

Sellery, two kinds. 

Alifanders, on Ma- 
cedonian parfley. 

Fennel. 

Succory. 

Endive. 

Radifli , common 

and Hanover, 
Cabbaee 



Roman ^ 
fugar Imperial 
peafe. Cofs (the 
moft e- 
fteem'd) 
Red Spa- , 

nijh 
Capuchin 
Savoy 
Aleppo 
Smyrna 
Lombardy^ 

Roots or ojf-fets of 
herbs. 



y peafe. 



kid- 
ney 
beans- 



Brown- 

"Dutch 
Silefia 
Arabian 



Mint. 
Tarragon, 
Sage. 
Gives. 
Onion. 
Ghiboul. 
Burnet. 
Rocket. 
Sorrel. 
Crelfes. 
'lettuce. Rampiono 
Gorn-fallet. 
Turnep. 

Hartfliorn, 



3S6 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 



Hartfliorn. 

Muftard. 

Cherville/ 

Spinach. 

Lop lettuce. 

Purflane. 

Nafturtian, 

Other fweet herbsy 
and pot herbs. 

Thyme. 

oummer-' ' 

Winter -^fweet 

Summer J marj^^"^. 

Plain -I 

Curled jP^'^^y- 

Rofcmary. 

Hyflbp. 

Borrage. 

Buglofs. 

Bloodwort. 

Marygold. 

Columbine. 

Orach. 



Tanfy. 
Coaftmary. 
Sweet maudlin, 
Bahn. 
Mint. 

Of the tifeful phyp 
cal herbs cultiva- 
ted in the kitchen 
garden. 

Carduus benedid. 

Angelica. 

Balm. 

Carraway. 

Anife. 

Coriander. 

Pasnugreek. 

Rhubarb. 

Elecampane. 

White poppy. 

Dill. 

Wormwood. 
Abrotanum. 
Lavender. 
Rue, 



SECT. 



T'he TraBkal Kitchen Gardiner. 337 



SECT. VIII. CHAP. LXIIL 

Of kitchen garden feeds 5 a general ac- 
count of the time of their fpr outings 
fhapesy &c. 

IT will be of no fmall import to gen- 
tlemen and gardiners, that they are 
made acquainted with the nature and 
property of garden feeds and plants, their 
time of fprouting, fhape, manner of pro- 
pagation, ^c. all which will much con- 
tribute to their fatisfaclion in ail kitchen 
garden produdlions. 

Tlinj himfelf, lib. 19. cap. 7. gives a 
fhort sketch of the times that all feeds 
fprout in , which, becaufe no body has 
done it before, I fhall tranQate, for the 
benefit of my reader, with fome altera- 
tion, advifing my reader that the foil he 
wrought in, was undoubtedly two or 
three days more early than ours j fvveet 
bafil, blite, the turnep, burner, ^c, 
appear above ground the third day. To 
which we may alfo add, from later ex- 
perience, the radifh, garden crelTes, muf- 
tard, &c. tho' Tliny allows them five or 
fix days time to fprout in 5 dill, fen- 
Z nd. 



The TraEtkal Kitchen Gar diner, 

nel, (ire. the fourth day ; lettuce, if the 
weather be good, or on a hot-bed, the 
fifth or fixth 5 the cucumber, melon and 
gourd, the feventh 5 the beet, in the 
fummer, comes up in fix days, in the 
winter in ten 5 atriplex in eight 5 the 
leek in ten or twelve 5 but the onion, 
to which I add the carrot, parfnip, ^r. 
not till after nineteen or twenty days 
fowing ; the origamim and coriander, in 
thirty ; but the apium or parfley, as Tli- 
ny obferves, is the moft difficult of all, 
it being forty days a fpringing, when it 
comes the quickefl:, and fifty, generally 
fpeaking. Some kinds of feeds fpring 
quickeft (fays this antient author) when 
it is the neweft> as the cucumber and 
gourd j but parfley, beet, cardamum, 
miganum and coriander, when old i it 
being remarkable alfo in the beet, that 
it will produce two or three years fol- 
lowing after one another ; for which 
reafon it is propagated with great eafe. 

Some there arc that produce but once 
a year, fome oftner, as parfley, leek, c^r. 
for thefe being once planted, produce 
with an irrefiftible fertility for many 
years. 



The 



TraBkal Kitchen Gardiner. 

The feeds of many are round, fome 
long, fome foliaceous aiid broad, as the 
atriplex or orach 5 fome narrow and 
channeird, as the cmiimin. Nor are 
there lefs diftindionS in their colours, 
fome being white, fome black. The 
radifli, muftard and rape produce fmall 
circular leaves. The feed of parQey^ 
coriander, fennel and cummin, are na- 
ked $ but that of the biite, beet, atri- 
plex, fweet bafil, &c. are covered ali 
Over with a tdugh skin 5 as the lettuce is 
invefted with a woollen garbs with much 
more to the fame purpofe, which that 
great naturaiift- produces to fhew the great 
variety there is in garden feedsi 

But what I would more particularly- 
appropriate this chapter to, is the parti- 
cular fliape of each feed, and of fueh 
other things which contribute to or de- 
fcribe the produdion or multiplication 
of any fort of plant or legume 5 which 
1 Ihall do in an alphabetical order. 

Anife is altogether like fennel fecd^ 
by which only it is multiplied, being 
fown in February or March j it is pretty 
fmall, of a yellowini green, and of a 
longifli wall figure ftrip'd* 



Z z Artichokct 



340 The T radical Kitchen Gardiner, 

Artichokes are fometimes raifed by 
feeds that grow in their bottoms, when 
they are fufFer'd to grow old and flower, 
but generally by flips or ofF-fets. 

Afparagus is propagated by feed only, 
which is black, a little ovular, round on 
one fide, and flat on the other. 

The meliffa or balm is multiplied by 
runners or cuttings, tranfplanted in A- 
friL 

Beans are too well known for me to 
fay any thing, more than that they are 
raifed from flat feed or fruit of their 
own kind. 

Beets are multiplied by feeds, fowed 
only in March. 

Borrage by feed, which is of a black 
colour, and a long bunchy oval figure, 
fowed in March or April 5 as is buglofs, 
in the fame manner, the feeds being 
both alike. 

The feed of burnet, by which gene- 
rally this plant is propagated, is pretty 
big, a little ovular, with four fides, all 
over engraved as it were, in fpaces be- 
tween thefe four fides. 

Cabbage, the feed of a brown cinna- 
mon colour, is multiplied only by feeds 
fowed at different feafons of the year. 

Carduus 



The Tra5iical Kitchen Gardiner, 

Carduus is propagated by feed only, 
of a longifh ovular fhape, and about the 
bignefs of a wheat corn, of a greenifh 
olive colour, mark'd with black flreaks 
from one end of the feed to the other, 
fown from the middle of April to the 
latter end. 

The feed of carrots, and their time 
of fowing, are too well known for me 
to mention it. 

Sellery, or celery, is alfo well known 
to be of a fmall, yellowifh, longifh fi- 
gure, like parfley, a little bunch'd. 

Cherville is multiplied only by black 
long feed, not unlike black oats, but 
much longer, and fharper pointed, like 
needles. 

Chibouls are a kind of fmall onion, 
fow'd at all feafons to eat whilft young 5 
the feed is not bigger than common 
gunpowder, fo like the leek, &c, that 
it's hard to diftinguilh the one from the 
other. 

Citruls, Pumpions or Pumpkins, are 
propagated by feeds only, of a large 
whitifh colour, neatly edged about the 
fides, fow'd in March, &c, 

Englifl) cives are multiplied by ofF- 
fets that grow round about their tufts, 
Z 3 planted 



7he Tra5iical Kitchen Gardiner, 

planted in jiprilj or any other moift 
feafon. 

Collyflowcrs and cole worts, as the 
braffica or cabbage, and its kinds, is 
multiplied by feed only, about the big- 
nefs of a large pin's head, invefted 
with a kind of a brown cinnamon-co- 
loiir'd skin. 

The feeds of cucumbers are ovular^ 
of a middling thicknefs, but white, as 
tliofc of melons are yellow or cream-co- 
lour d. 

Endive, as al fo fuccory, is multiplied 
only by feed, which is of a whitilh grey 
colour, flat at one end, and roundifh af 
the other, is fow'd at feveral times of 
the year, as before. 

Fennel feed is like the anife, before 
defcribcd, and is propagated in the fame 
jTianner, 

Garlick is produced by kernels or ofF- 
fcts, parted from the middle of the old 
f-oot, and tranfpl anted in March or A- 
fril. 

Hydbp is propagated by feeds, but ge- 
neral] y by flips. 

Lavender is fometimes multiplied by 

fccds^ but oftner by fets. 



Leek^ 



The Tra£fical Kitchen Gardiner, 

Leeks are multiplied by feeds only,, 
as the well-known onion, and at the 
fame time and feafon.* 

Lettuces are propagated by feed only^ 
fome whereof are white, and others 
black 5 the beft feed is from thofe that 
have flood all winter. 

Mallows are propagated by feeds. 

Marjoram is propagated by feed (tho' 
often by flips) which is fliaped almoft 
like a lemon, of a pretty light cinamoa 
colour, fowed in March. 

Melons are multiplied by feed, like 
that of cucumber, but of a pale yellow^ 
or rather cream colour, fowed in diffe- 
rent feafons. f^ide melons. 

Mint, like balm, is multiplied by run- 
ners or off- fets, that run upon the ground 
and take roQt, but bear no feed that I 
ever fav/. 

Nafturtian flowers, of two kinds, arc 
raifed by feeds, invefted in a very rough 
coat, fowed in March, 

Onions, as well white as red, S/^a- 
nifhy Strasbitrgh or Welch^ are all raifed 
by feed, like that of the leek or chi- 
bouj, as has been already intimated. 

Parfley, as well the common as the 
curled fort, is only propagated by f^cd^ 
^4 of 



344 Tra5iical Kitchen Gardiner. 

of a grceniOi grey colour, fowed at fe- 
veral feafons of the year. 

Parfnip feed, and its time of fowing, 
is too well known for me to repeat it 
here. 

As are alfo peafe 5 which I refer to its 
proper article. 

Purflane is a pretty feed, black, and 
extraordinary fmall. To have good feed, 
it is bcft to tranfplant fome of the befl: 
plants at the end of May^ at a foot dif- 
tance from each other, which in good 
fummers will produce good feed towards 
the latter end of the year. 

Radifhes are v/ell known to be mul- 
tiplied by iced only, <^c. 

The roccamboles, otherwife Spanifl) 
garlick, is a mild fpecies of that kind, 
of a much finer guft than common gar- 
lick 5 it is multiplied by cloves taken off 
from the old root, as garlick is 3 or by- 
the feeds, which are not much unlike 
the cloves themfelves, about the bignefs 
of ordinary peafe, and grow in bunches 
on the top of the ftalks. 

The erttca or rocket is multiplied by 
feed, which is extreme fmall, and of a 
cinnamon or dark tanny colour, fowed 
at divers feafpns. 

Rue 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner '. 

Rue may be multiplied by feeds, but 
is more ufually propagated by layers, 
flips or cuttings, fet out in JpriL 

Sage is multiplied by flips, fet out in 
April 

Savory by feed, or flips fet out at the 
fame time. 

Scorzonera, and common falfify, is 
propagated only by feed, which is fmall, 
longifh, and round withal, and of a 
whitifli colour, and grows in a kind of 
a ball mounted on the top of the ftalk 
of the plant, having its point enrich'd 
with a kind of beard like that of dan- 
delion 5 it comes eafdy of feed fowed ia 
March, &c. 

Seliery. See Celery. 

Shallots are multiplied by ofF-fets, as 
garlick is, and at the fame time. 

Smallagc. Vide Celery, or Cellery. 

Sorrel is fometimes multiplied by feed, 
but more generally by flips and ofF-fets, 
tranfplanted in March. 

Spinage is multiplied by feed, which 
is large, and fometimes horned, and fome- 
times fmooth, of a greyifli colour, and 
is fowed at feveral feafons of the year. 

Thyme, or time, is often multiplied 
by feeds^ which are fm^ll, but more of- 

tea 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

ten by flips, fct in April , which is too 
well known for me to enlarge upon it 
in this place. 

Turncps are well known to be mul- 
tiplied by feeds, which are fown at dif- 
ferent feafons of the year, of the fhapc 
and colour of cabbage. 

With which I fhall conclude this fec- 
tion. 

SECT. IX. CHAP. LXIV. 

jin abflra^ of monthly dire^ions in the 
kitchen garden-, taken from the practice 
of the neathoiije-men and kitchen gar- 
diners about London. 

IT is proper I fliould obferve that the 
following abftrad was drawn up for 
a young perfon that was fpnt up by a 
nobleman to the gardens about Lambeth y 
to be inflru^ied in kitchen gardening, 
as it is indeed there pradis'd with as 
great fuccefs as it is any where about 
London ; and confequently it is the re- 
fult of their laborious pradice , which 
muft be efteem'd of much better than 
any fpcculative diredions lately publirti'd^ 
fo I dcfire the reader to take them in 
the homely drefs they are delivered to mco 

sect: 



l^he TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 



SECT. IX. CHAP. LXV. 
Obfervations and direEtions for January^ 

N'OW (fays the neat-houfe gardiner) 
we begin to fow onions on beds, 
for to diraw off in the fpring, and fome 
lettuce of feveral forts , now you fow 
^Ifo cucumbers on feed-beds, for to 
come in on the latter end of March or 
the beginning of April j likewife fome 
melon feeds, for to come in in May and 
June. If the weather be open, we fow 
our warm borders with young falleting 
of feveral forts j and alfo we fow our 
fecond crop of peafe and beans. In 
this month we fow our firft carrots, for 
to come off in April and May 5 we con- 
tinue making our beds for fore d alpara- 
gus. The manner of the beds are to be 
three or four foot thick of dung, half 
a foot thick of mold on the top of the 
bed, before the roots go on, fo you 
trim your roots and prick them on the 
bed, and then put four inches of mold 
on the top of the roots, and fo let it 
lie till the fluff appear above ground^ 
and then make a rope of horfe-dung ©r 

hay. 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

hay, and put it round the edge of the 
bed, and then put your boxes and glaf- 
fes, or other frames on, and put two or 
three inches of mold more on , if your 
fluff comes up well, you may pull off 
your glaffes if the weather proves fair 
and ferves for it 5 and if the beds fhould 
lofe their heat, you muft line them with 
frefh dung. 

iV.5. For your farther diredions, fee 
thofe for afparagus, particularly about 
the choice of good roots. 

SECT, IX. CHAP. LXVI. 
Obfervations and direBions for February. 



HE cucumbers and melons that 



\ were fown in January are now 
come fit to plant out in the nurfery- 
beds, to continue till they go on the 
ridges, the latter end of this month, or 
beginning of March, Now we begin 
to work up our firft banks, in order for 
to fow our firft feafon of radifhes and 
fpinage. Now we fow fome onions, 
and carrots and parfnips in the open 
ground, and alfo to plant out fome cab- 
bage plants. If the weather be open, 
z we 




The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 

we plant our banks that were fowed 
with radifh and fpinage, with colly«> 
flowers out of the boxes 5 and fo we 
plant out our hard onions for to ftand 
for feed. We fow fome lettuce, 'viz. 
the Silefia and Imperial, for to plant out 
to fucceed the lettuce that was planted 
in October. If the weather be good, we 
fow our crops of onions and carrots ; 
likewife we fow more cucumbers and 
melons, to fucceed thofe fowed ivi Ja- 
nuary r We continue planting out of 
coUyflowers and cabbage plants, for a 
fucceffion to thofe planted out in Octo- 
ber ^ November and January 5 and alfo 
we continue the fowing of more peafe 
and beans in open ground, on the fides 
of our ridges of ground that was trench'd 
in November and T)ecember j for thefe 
ridges (as has been elfewhere obferv'd) ' 
not only preferve your peafe and beans, 
when they firft peep up, from thofe cold 
and piercing winds that come from the 
North and North-Eaft, but the rains 
and fnows likewife fink off from the 
young, and as yet tender roots, and the 
rows lie open to the warm and cheer- 
ful embraces of the fun, efpecially if in 
the trenching your ground you forecaft 

to 



3 50 The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

to lay the flank fide of the ridge to- 
wards the fun as it fliines about one or 
two a clock 5 or> to fpeak mathemati- 
cally, when thofe flanks are of right 
angles with it. Now alfo we continue 
the making of beds for forced afparagus, 
and the month concludes with fowing 
of more falleting, and planting out of 
lettuce on banks under warm reed hedges , 
and now you may begin to fow kidney 
beans under your glafles on the nurfery 
bed, to plant out in your ftames, in. 
order to have them early, and it will 
fucceed well, and repay your pains. 

SECT. IX. CHAP. LXVIL 
Obfervations and direEiions for March» 

IN this month plant out your afpara- 
gus plants, on the ground that was 
prepar d, and laft year fow'd with oni- 
ons, (four rows on a bed, at a foot dif- 
tancc, and a foot, or I rather add two, 
for the alley;) you fow again lettuce, 
radifh, fpinage, and fome few onions 
to fucceed thofe that are fow'd on the 
warm bank the lafl: months. The dung 
being thrown up to make ridges for 
I cucumbers* 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 3 5 1 

cucumbers and melons, you are to pro- 
ceed to that work in a few days after 
the fame has fweetned well. Now fow 
your main crop of fpring collyflower 
plants, as alfo feveral forts of cabbage 
plants, to come in at the latter part of 
the year j fow alfo favoys to fucceed 
them that were fown in Auguft\ but 
this is not the main crop 5 continue 
planting out collyflowers taken out from 
under the bell-glaffes, leaving one of 
the ftrongcft under every glafs, to come 
in and fruit early. Now it is, or it had 
been better to do it earlier, even in the 
preceding month of February, if the 
weather be tolerably good, that you 
muft furround the above-mention d bell- 
glaffes 5 and as the dung wherein they 
were planted in the autumn is now fup- 
pos'd to be rotten, you muft cut or take 
away the old dung with a very fliarp 
fpade, leaving only a ball within the 
cavity of the bell-glafs, to keep the col- 
lyflower plants fteady ; and having ex- 
cavated the faid old rotten dung quite 
out, and as deep as you poffibly can. 
with convenience, get fome good new 
hot dung and ram it all round the faid 
ball or bell-glafs, for this will ftrike in 

new 



352 ^f^^ TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

new heat, and, by the help of the bcU- 
glafs, will forward your collyflowers 
very much. Plant out your cabbage 
likewife. Continue fowing of beans 
and peafe of feveral forts 5 obfcrve the 
dccreafe of the moon to fow your fel- 
lery in, to prevent its running to feed. 
Fork your afparagus, and, if the weather 
be good, level your artichoke trenches ; 
fow fome more young lettuce and fal- 
leting5 fow more cucumbers and me- 
lons for your bell-glafTes and ridges; fow 
more kidney beans in the upper or back 
fide of your melon ridges, to come in 
early, having already planted out thofe 
fow'd the laft month for that purpofe* 
Plant out your Imperial and Sikfia let- 
tuce (which were fow'd the preceding 
months) in warm places from under 
your bell-glalTes upon beds in the open 
garden to ftand to cabbage. 



SECT. 



The Tra£tical Kitchen Gardiner, 353 



SECT. IX. CHAP. LXVIIL 
Obfervations and direMions for April. 

PLant out now your artichoke plants 
that you flip off your old docks, 
the rows being four foot afunder, and 
two foot diftance between each plant j 
and this you muft continue to do all this 
and the next month, in all vacant places 
in your garden where your early crops 
come off, in order to have plenty of 
artichokes in the latter part of the year ; 
cfpecially if it be a garden that admits 
of fale. You now continue fowing of 
young falletting of all forts in open 
ground, and finifh the planting out thofe 
lettuce that were fown in February j and 
alfo pricking out your fpring plants, as 
cabbages and favoys. Continue making 
of ridges for cucumbers and melons, for 
the laft crop. The crops that were fown 
in the months before-mention'd are now 
come fit for ho wing, as radiOi and oni- 
ons, carrots, parfnips and fpinage. Ob- 
ferve the dccreafe of tiie moon in this 
month, to low your firft turneps ; like- 
wife now fow all forts of fwect herbs, 
A a and 



3 54 The TraSHcal Kitchen Gardiner. 

and all forts of lettuce 5 and continue 
fowing of peafe and beans to come in 
one after another, in a proper order. 
Prick out your fellery, fome on a hot- 
bed, to bring it forwards to plant in 
trenches, and others on cold beds, to 
come in later. Sow now your red beets 
andskirretS; fcorzonera and falfifys and, 
if required, continue making of bell- 
lidges for cucumbers ; and now fow 
your main crop of kidney beans, in dry 
weather, and in trenches, the bottoms 
whereof are fiU'd with rotten dung, in 
cafe the ground is poor; tho'fome there 
are that plant them on hills like hop- 
hills, and fill the bottoms in like man- 
ner. 

SECT. IX. CHAP. LXIX. 

Obfervations and direBions for May. 

SOW fome peafe and beans to come 
in late 5 continue making of bell- 
ridges, and fowing lettuce of every fort, 
and alfo all forts of young falleting to 
cut in the feed-leaves. Sow fome colly- 
flower feed to come in in November 5 
fow alfo endive in this month, tp come 

in 



The TraBkd Kitchen Gardiner. 

ill forwards. Plant out weekly fame fel- 
lery in trenches for to ftand to whiten > 
fow more fellery feed 5 and alfo few fomc 
more cucumbers^ on beds made flightly 
for heat, with dung, or on a very good 
border, for pickling. Your early banks 
whereon you fow'd your radifli, being 
how cleared, land or how up the land 
about your collyflowers, and pan and 
mulch them with mown grafs or longifli 
dung, in order to water them. And 
now you may put on pigeons dung, or 
any other mixture whereby you propofc 
to accelerate and make them large 5 but 
they muft water them twice or thrice a 
\s^eek at leaft ; if you could float them 
it would be better 5 and this is juft as 
you find they begin to button or flower. 
Lay out (fays our Neathoufe-man) your 
cucumbers and melons from under your 
bell-glafles \ but he talks like a Londoner^ 
it is very rare that we dare take off even 
our frames in the country, much lefs 
our bells, which ought to be continued 
on ail the fummer, and till the melons 
are over. Towards the letter end of the 
month plant out your main crop of cu- 
cumbers for pickling, between your ear- 
ly and middling collyflowerSji which wili 
A a a fooa 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

foon give way for them to expand and 
fpread themfelves. You continue ftill 
the fowing of kidney beans in open 
ground, and in dry weather, elfe they 
are apt to rot. 

SECT. IX. CHAP. LXX. 
Obfervations and directions yi?r June. 

Plant out your cardoms that were 
fown in March. Sow and tranf- 
plant endive ; and fow lettuce of all 
the kinds for later cabbaging, and in 
beds or borders a little inclinable to 
fliade. You continue planting out of 
fellery in trenches for to whiten ; which 
you muft continue to do weekly, and 
alfo to earth it up one week after ano- 
ther, in all dry weather, to prevent rot- 
ting : fow now your laft crop of pickling 
cucumbers. Now your crops begin to 
come off that were fow'd and planted 
in the fpring, as collyflowers, cabbages 
and other things 5 and now it is that the 
induftrious gardiner is bufily employed 
in clearing away the rubbifli, and dig- 
ging the ground, in order to put on 
4 other 



The Tra5}ical Kitchen Gardiner, 



357 



other later crops, as winter cabbages 
and favoys, for to fucceed thofe that 
were planted in the fpring. The col- 
lyflowers that were fown in May are 
now come fit to plant out 5 you plant 
fome of them on the fides of your bell- 
glafs ridges, one between every glafs, for 
to ftand to fruit after the cucumbers 
be gone. Plant out now fome of 
your largeft leeks to whiten, in trenches, 
for foupes. The weather being dry at 
this time of the year, you water your 
cucumbers, melons, coUyflowers and 
other things, as the different degrees of 
heat or drought require 5 but be fure 
no waterings in moift weather, one 
drop of rain being preferable to any 
other water, except for collyflowers that 
root deep. 



Aa 3 



SECT. 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 



SECT. IX. CHAP. LXXI. 
Obfervations and dire&ions for July. 

YOU contmue the works of the 
former momhs, and plant out a- 
bundance of felicry in your nurfery 
beds, from your laft fowing, to be 
planted out in trenches in September 
and October y that you may have a fuc- 
ceffioii for the whole winter. Sow now 
your laft fcafon of Silejiay Imperial, and 
common bright lettuce, brown T>utchy 
Capuchin and Vienna lettuce, all for 
cabbaging in the autumn feafon. Sow 
feme endive for winter, and continue 
the planting out that fown in the pre- 
ceding month, to be ty'd up and whit- 
cn'd, and ufcd with felicry (in its firft 
coming in, in Aitgiifi, and) in loupes, 
which will then begin to take place. 
Now are you to plant out your late 
cabbage and favoys for winter. About 
the middle of this month fow fome of 
the round fpinage for the autumn fea- 
fon. If the weather be dry continue to 
water cucumbers, and melons, and col- 

lyflowers. 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 359 

lyflowers. Sow your colcworts for to 
plant out in your afparagus alleys ; 
likewife fow fome of your beft colly- 
flower feed to plant under your bell- 
glalfes in the month of OBobevh and 
towards the latter end is the time alfo 
for fowing of cabbage feeds for winter 
plants. 

SECT. IX. CHAP. LXXII. 
Obfervations and direBims for Auguft. 

IN the beginning of this month, you 
are to fow your laft feafon of en- 
dive, for to ftand the winter. Conti- 
nue the planting out of fellery in trenches. 
Sow now your collyflower feed in your 
old melon iidges, for to prick out in 
your frames or boxes, and to ftand 
the winter; and continue to fow what 
y©u began the latter end of laft month, 
your forward ftrain of cabbages, for to 
plant out in November, Alfo fow your 
Michaelmas feafon fpinage and onions, 
to come forward in the fpring. Sow 
alfo lettuce of feveral forts, for to plant 
out iaOBoberon your afparagus beds. 



Aa 4 



SECT. 



The TrdBical Kitchen Gardiner. 



S E C T. IX. C H A P. LXXIIT. 

Obfervations and dire 5i ions for Sep- 
tember. 



Our pickling cucumbers now be- 



1 gin to go off 5 on which account 
you clear your ground for to plant fel- 
lery on in trenches for the winter. 
Prick out your coleworts on fome odd 
piece of ground, for to ftand till they 
are re-planted between the choke trenches 
in the fpring, having already prick'd out 
the largeft of them in open ground, to 
ftand for the winter cutting. Now 
prick out your collyflowcr and cabbage 
plants on your old melon beds, for to 
make them grow ftrong. Bind up your 
Spanifh cardoms with hay bands, and 
mold them up for to make them fit for 
ufe. Alfo bind up fome of your white 
beet, to make it tender and fit for foupe. 
Continue fowing of lettuce for to plant 
out the latter end of the next month. 
You may now begin to force afparagus. 
Sow fome corn-fallet for the winter; 
and continue planting out fellery and 
endive. 




SECT, 



The TraBicdl Kitchen Gardiner. 



SECT. IX. CHAP. LXXIV. 
Obfervations and direBions for Oftober. 

MAke clean your afparagus bcds> 
and dig the alleys between the 
young fluff that was planted in the 
fpring, and cover the beds with the 
mold you dig out of the alleys. 
You may now plant lettuce on the 
beds, and coleworts in the alleys, to 
draw off early in the fpring. You now 
plant and fow your firfl feafon of beans 
and peafe , or you may omit it till the 
latter end of this month, or the be- 
ginning of next. You continue plant- 
ing out of lettuce for to cabbage in 
the fpring, under fome very fecure warm 
wall or reed-hedge, the border lying a 
little floping or fhelving towards the 
fun, to throw off the fnows and rains. 
Lay your endive in trenches, to fland 
the winter. Plant out your collyflowers 
three or four together under a bell, 
which may be drawn off, all to one, 
in the months of January and Febru- 
ary coming. Now alfo you are to fill 

up 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 

up all your frames with plants of the 
fame fowingsj and if your plants be 
fmall you may plant them on a hot- 
bed. You alfo continue the making beds 
for forced afparagusj and towards the 
latter end you may plant a few peafe 
and beans to come in very early , or 
you may omit it till the next month. 



SECT, IX. CHAP. LXXV. 

Obfervations and direEiions for No- 
vember. 

DUng and land up your artichokes, 
and clean your afparagus beds, 
and cover them with fhort dung. Plant 
out your forward ftrain of cabbage 
plants, and alfo your coleworts, be- 
tween your artichoke trenches. You 
continue to fow your early and hardy 
peafe and beans. Some or moft of 
your ground being clear'd, you begin 
to trench it for fpring. You conti- 
nue a fucccffion of beds for forced 
afparagus. If the weather be open, 
continue planting out more lettuce on 
warm borders^ or under boxes and 

bells^ 



The TraSiical Kitchen Gardiner. 



bells, on old hot-beds; or if weak, 
throw a little dung together for that 
purpofc. 

SECT. IX. CHAP. LXXVI. 

Obfervations and direBims for De- 
cember. 



O U continue fowing of pcafe 



1 and beans, either under thofc 
walls or warm reed hedges that were 
left unfown in the preceding month, 
or on the fides of your ridg'd or 
trenched ground, as has been often 
taught 5 and alfo planting out of cab- 
bage plants in this month, in the man-^ 
ner aforefaid. Now it is you make 
fome hot -beds for young falleting. 
You continue the works of the for- 
mer months for forcing of alparagusj 
and the whole month is employ'd in 
carrying out your dung out of the 
melonry, from your heaps that have 
laid rotting all the fummer, to be 
trench'd into your ground for the year 
cnfuing. 




The TraEtical Kitchen Gardiner, 

Your trenching fliould be performed 
in the following manner, the dung be- 
ing firft laid all over your ground, an 
equal mixture of long and rotten to- 
gether, which, when dug in, keeps the 
ground hollow, and drains off all the 
fuperfluous moifture; then you are to 
begin your trenching, by opening at 
firft a trench about three foot, or three 
foot and a half wide, diredlly facing 
the fun (let it be acrofs or angle-ways 
of your piece, if it will) as it fhines 
at one or two a clocks for on the 
funny fide of thefe ridges, which you 
muft lay up hog-back'd, or as picked 
as you can, it is that you fow and 
plant your fecond and third crops of 
peafe and beans, in January and Fe- 
bruary 5 as alfo your main planting of 
cabbages and collyflowers, to fucceed 
thofe that were planted before this 
time* 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 



S E C T. IX. CHAP. LXXVIL 
jin account of the adjoining plan. 

I Cannot finifh this treatife better 
than by the annexion of the fol- 
lowing plan 5 which is not only a hand- 
fome, but a very convenient figure, as 
to the difpofition of the feveral afpeft- 
cd walls, quarters for fruit, legumes, ^c. 
fince there is not a pofition of the 
whole thirty two, (that of the North 
only excepted,) but has the equal and 
proportionate fhare of the fun. 

The hint I firfl: met with, that gave 
rife to all that I have thought on this 
fubjed, was taken out of a garden of 
this kind in the North, where going 
from the beft front of the houfe to- 
wards the precipice of a fteep hill, you 
are prefented with a fine fruit garden 
of this form. I muft confefs I was not 
a little furpriz'd with the elegance and 
beauty that this figure firft ftruck me 
with ; tho' upon perufal I found it was 
not in the center of the building, and 

wanted 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 

wanted many of thofe conveniencles 
that the nature of the place would have 
afforded. 

On this account it was that I refolv'd 
upon making the adjoining plan, which 
will be of great help to any gentleman 
or other, that happens to make his gar- 
den in fo low a fituation ; for by en- 
compaffing it with water, it adds a 
wonderful pleafurc to the beholder. 
And by this means alfo it is, that both 
lides of a wall may be planted ; the 
infide I fhould advife with peaches, 
neftarines, and other tender fruits, but 
the outfide, cfpecially the North fide, 
with hardy pears, &c. 

As to what pertains to kitchen ftufF, 
thofe quarters that are lituate on the 
backfide towards the North, are the 
propereft for early roots and legumes; 
and thofe towards the South fide, but 
under the fhade of the wall, with thofe 
that are later. 

The digging of the foffee round will 
go a great way in raifing the ground, 
and making the borders good, which 
is very proper in all low fituations. 



The 



the TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 



The little pieces of x^ood, and wild 
walks, and the meanders and trees that 
will there be found, arc all not only 
ornamental, but alfo a guard to the 
walls and fruit. Which is all the 
account I have at prefent time to 
give. 



A is the place from which you de« 
fcend from the level of the par- 
terre/ 

B is the entrance into the fruit and 
kitchen garden, which I would 
advife to be of iron work, all o- 
pen. 

C is the termination, or farther end 
thereof, where a canal offers hand- 
fomely, 

2> arc baftions, after the lateft man- 
ner, 

E are pavilions above for fruit, and 
for banqueting, as they ferve be» 
low, on one fide for room for 

flairs 



The TraBicd Kitchen Gardiner. 

flairs to run up in, and on the 
other for gardiners utenfils. 

jF arc tcrrafTcs round by the foflec or 
grafF. 

G is the canaL 



FINIS. 



36? 



A 



SUPPLEMENT, 



SECT, X. CHAP, LXXVIIL 



N the perufal of the foregoing 



fhcets, afcer they were moft of 



^ them piinted off, I recolieftcd 
fome itiftmdions ^and obfervations that 
were omitted,, \Vftich I had receiv'd fome 
years ago from^. a Dutch gardiner, but 
which I have in this fupplement endea- 
voured to fupply. 

As to cucumbers, which are treated of 
in the fccond f«ftion, I have from him to 



CONTAINING 



The methods of ratfing melons^ and 
cucumbers very early • as aJfo 
mufhroomSy borecole and broccoli^ 
potato's^ and other ufeful roots 
and plants^ as pra&'tsd m France, 
Italy, Holland and Ireland. 




B b 



add. 



SUPPLEMENT, 



CONTAINING 

The methods of raifmg melons^ and 
cucumbers very early • as aJfo 
mujhroomSy borecole and broccoli^ 
potato's^ and other ufeful roots 
and plants^ aspra&isd m France, 
Italy, Holland and Ireland. 



. SECT. X. CHAP, LXXVIIL 

ON the perufai of the foregoing 
fheets, after they were moft of 
them printed off, I recolieftcd 
fome iaftruftions^and obfetvations that 
were omitted,, \vflich I had receiv'd fome 
years ago from^ a Dutch gardiner, Uut 
which I have in this fupplement endea- 
voured to fupply. 

As to cucumbers, which are treated of 
in the fccond f«aion, I have from him to 
B b add^ 



370 



A SUTTLEMENT to 



add, that thofe that have a mind to at- 
tempt at the procuring of them very ear- 
ly, and to fow their feed in Nouember^ 
or the beginning of December (as it is now 
praftis'd) that inflead of the flannel 
frames, which Mr. Bradley recommends, 
the ingenious praditioner fliould have 
fquare hand glaffes, to fet over his plants> 
which when planted out fhould be reduced 
into the compafs of fuch glaffes 5 at the 
top of which there fhould be a chim- 
ney, as they call it, made of one of 
the triangular fquares, fo faftned at 
the top by a ftaple made of wire, that it 
may be opened on any oceafion. 

When the hot bed is tlien ready, the 
heat raised, and the plants fit to plant out 
from the feed bed as before direded, then 
you arc to plant them out under thefc 
hand glafles, and keep open the before- 
mentioned chimney, fo as that the fteam 
may go out at top, which will in a great 
meafure prevent that dew that will other- 
wife drop upon the plants, and which is 
often the oceafion of fpoiling and rotting 
them. And indeed this is the chief mif- 
chief that attends the raifing of plants 
thus early, before the fun has any power 
to dry up that pernicious moifture from 
I the 



T:he Traiiical Kitchen Gardiner. 

the glalTes 5 and which muft unavoidably 
fali upon them in large fquare frames^ 
where there are not fuch paffagcs. 

I flioLild have advised, that thofe chim- 
neys or openings at the top of the fquare 
glafSj fhould be always turn'd from the 
wind, leaft the cold get in, and hurt the 
plants as much the other way. It fhould 
have been alfo advis'd, that there fhould 
be hoops made of rods bended over the 
beds , with mats or fail cloth over them, 
tvhich fhould be left half turn d back to- 
wards the Northy to prevent any cold 
wind coming from that inclement quar- 
ter, and to be in a readinefs to throw over 
the whole bed in cafe of fno Wj rain or froft. 

The plants being thus fecur'd from the 
fteamthat arifes from the bed, are alfo 
fecur d in a great meafure from burning; 
for the fquare glaifes being plae'd four or 
five inches clear of one another 5 and no 
earth laid on the dung, a great deal of 
the pernicious fury and fleam of the bed 
evaporates that way, and you need not 
fear your plants burning. 

Tis by this means, that you have no 
occafion to take any care of any thing fo 
much as the keeping your bed flrong, and 
in good heat 5 for if once you fuffer it to be 
B 2 cold, 



A SUTTLEMENT to 

cold, or its heat any way declining, that 
then your plants grow fick and yellow; 
and when they are fo^you will have a hard 
matter to recover them again. To this 
end, you muft have flicks always ftuck 
down a foot or tv/o into the bed, to pull 
out, and feel, that you may difcovcr the 
temper of your bed upon all occafions : 
befides which, your finger fhould be often 
thruft into the bed, that you may difcover 
the temper of your earth, and whether 
your bed does not want new heating a- 
gain 5 to cure which, you fliould always 
have frefh dung lye juft by you j or if the 
bed heats too much, a dung fork to pull 
away part of that overmuch that was there 
before j or an iron bar to thruft down, if 
it rages into the heart of the bed, to let 
the fiercenels of the heat out. 

Thefe hand glades, as I have, I think, 
clfewhere intimated, arc of excellent 
ufe i, likewife when you tranfplant into 
your ridges, for thefe being fet a foot or 
two afunder, the fteam has free egrels to 
evaporate up towards your hoop cover- 
ing, and up into the open air. 

What has been faid of cucumbers, 
may be alfo apply 'd to melons when they 
are young, which wilLalways breed them 

up 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 37? 



up green, and healthy, when they arc 
not debar d of air, nor fuiFocated with 
the fleam or vapour that arifcs from the 
bed. For as the earth is not plac'd all o- 
ver the bed or ridge, into which you put 
your plants, the fiery heat has room to e- 
vaporate, and wafte it felf on each fide 
theglafs, and the chimney gives liberty 
to that which is included in the glafs 5 fo 
that you are now guarded, as I faid, againft 
one of the chief misfortunes attending 
the raifing and ridging of young plants. 

The raifing of mufhrooms, alfo however Ofraiftrg. 
good a difli it is, and how much foever^^^^^^^'^'' 
praftifed in France^ Holland, and other DuTch J^i 
parts of Etiropey feems to be more ne- French, 
gleded in England than elfewhere, not- 
withftanding, that with us they are more 
natural, and that we have the greatefl op- 
portunity of propagating them of any 
country whatsoever. 

I have already in the foregoing part of 
this treatife given an acount of the gene- 
ral methods hinted at by feveral authors 
for the propagation of this ufeful difh 3 
but as I have fince that happened upon 
fomc papers that have been miflaid for 
fomc time; I lay them now before my 
reader. 

B b 3 let 



A SUTT LEMENTto 

Let the earth, in which you would 
plant them, be of a lightifh nature, in a 
ground as entirely new and frefh as you 
can, and dig there a hollow of four or 
five foot wide and a foot deep, and as long 
as you pleafe j get then fome longifli 
dung from the ftable, and mix it with a 
little moulded hay or flraw, and throw it 
up together for four or five days, till the 
whole body of dung is tainted with that 
mouldinefs, which is fo conducive to th^ 
well growing of mufhrooms. 

If amoipigft the earth abovementioned 
you mix fome earth that is a little moul- 
dy, and that has been watcr'd; wikt the 
water wherein mufhrooms have been 
waih'd, and v/ith parings of the farpe it is 
ilill the better 5 and I oaay add, if to all 
you get the earth out of your fheep walks, 
and other places , where you' fee bunches 
of mufhrooms, and take from ilience the 
earth clodded together in balls, in which 
are contained thofe white milky fibres 
that are contained therein, you may af- 
furedly exped a good race of mufhrooms. 

To proceed, let the bed be rais'd about 
a foot and a half^ or two foot high, mix- 
ing and ti:<;ading the dung as hard as you 
can, and laying it fo entirely round, as 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 575 

that the water (which is very pernicious 
to thefc kind of plants) may run off on 
each fide. 

After that you are to cover the bed to 
the thicknefs of a foot more of the mold 
you can beft procure, and then place your 
prepared moid upon it, to three or four 
inches half a foot in thicknefs or more, 
then add five or fix inches of the firft mold, 
and after all that three or four inches of 
litter, which in the v/inter may guard it 
from the cold, and in the fummer fliade 
them from thofe excellive heats that fpoil 
their (hooting at that feafon of the year. 

This work fhould be done in Atigufty 
September, or OBober ^ as you can bcft 
provide your earth, and then by putting 
on of an ordinary frame , or covering 
the Beds with hoops and matts over them, 
you may expcd to have mufhrooms all 
the winter, more or lefs, and one would 
not have Icfs than ten or fifteen yards of 
fuch bed always at work. 

What I would next recommend is the 0/ the 
raifim^ of borecole and broccoli, both of 

, . , . r ' 1-11 bore£ole 

km to one another m ipecie 5 but widely and broc- 
differing in quality and goodncfs. coH^ 

I have already obferv'd in treating of this 
plant, that it is the Halmerida according 
B b 4 to 



A SUTTLEMENT to 

to Mr. Evelyn, or as it is in T>el€ampiu5's 
edition, the Ilmerida of 7liny, and fo 
rank'd amongfl the Crambe or fea kinds 
oi\}vx.z BraJJica, growing as it does on the 
fhores of Naples Sicily, from whence 
the bcft feeds are brought lo England. 

It grows fo common that it is not fq 
much a garden-plant in Italy , as it is a 
wild one 5 but in Holland, where they 
have been always before us in the produc- 
tions of the garden, they have been culti- 
vated with great fuccefs, as the gardiners 
there, from whom I had this account, tef- 
tify. 

It is a hardy plant, and you may feme it 
ahnoft any month in the year 5 but about 
Jpril or May is the moft ufual time, 
for then it Vv'ill fupply you with a pretty 
green curi'd boyler all the fummer, to mix 
with your turncps, carrots, colly-flowers, 
and other boiling roots and herbs, but 
t jic (lalk of the leaves, which is indeed the 
moll efteemed part of itj is not fo good, 
as it is more towards the middle of win- 
ter, and after the froft has feized it, on 
Y/hich account it is efteem'd a better difli 
afrer Chrijimas, than it is before. 

It has been noted that it is a plant ea- 
ij to be raifed if the feed i$ gogd 5 but 

there 



The Tra£tical Kitchen Gardiner, 377 

there are in the culture and improvement 
feveral things worth obfervation ; for the 
^utch who are fome of the beft iiuf- 
bands of tiie world in their gardens, give 
it the beft foil they are able, and when 
they are planted at about two or three foot 
afunder in hples filled with good rich 
dung, they water them well with the rich- 
eft and beft impregnated water they can, 
in order to make it grow large and crifpy, 
which is the chief and moft excellent 
qualification of this plant;, efpecially as 
to the ftalk, which they fometimes ftrip 
of the green, and eat them with oil or 
butter, as they do their afparagus. 

What the particular ingredients were, 
with which they compounded the water 
for watering their broccoli plants with, 
I could not learn, any other than that it 
was compos d of the richeft of their foils, 
and had a large quantity of falt-peter 
diflblv'd in it 5 but as the feveral kinds of 
impregnated water in the beginning of 
this treatife , Sec. II. Cap. V. pag. 44, 
45, and 46. are taken from a T)utch au- 
thor, I recommend my reader thereto, 
afTuring him from what I have Obferv'd, 
he may exped great fuccefs from it, and 
that broc(;oH is thin and dry, and little 
3 wonii 



37S A SUTTLEMENT $0 

worth that is not well laboured with 
thefe kind of impregnations and improve- 
ments. 

I might add more; as the railing of af- 
paragus, artichoaks, fcorzonera, falfify, 
and other curious roots, after the French 
and Spanifl) methods 5 but as the methods 
of our own country are very excellent, 
I need not enlarge any farther. 
fhe me- The ncxt obfervation I would make, 
thod of q£ what has been omitted in the forcgo- 
7at7f fn ing treatifc, contained in the fourth fccli- 
jreland. on, is the method of raifing Potato's in 
Ireland, as I received it lately from a 
Gentleman of good intelligence, that is 
a husbandman, that lately came from 
thence, and which he tells me is the me- 
thod us'd there at this time by thofc that 
are the beft husbands. 

He obferves upon the whole, that the 
" method we ufe in England of planting 
the root whole is wrong j for that there 
" are five or fix eyes, and perhaps more, 
" from which the produce of the next year 
" is to fpring, that the fpace of ground al- 
lotted for that bulb, or rather the great 
number of fhoots and bulbs that fpring 
" from it, is not fufficient for the nou- 
rifhment of them, and that therefore 

it 



The Tragical Kitchen Gmdmr. 

it happens that a great many of the po- 
" tato's, that are dug up in the autumn, 
" are fmall and good for nothing'*. To 
feniedy this (fays he) we chufe a middling 
root (becaufc the largefl: they generally 
eat) and obferving all thofe eyes that ap- 
pear to be ftrong and vigorous, we fquare 
out that eye or eyes, leaving a good thick 
piece of half an inch to the eye, fo that 
perhaps one Root will furnifa us with 
three or four good plants to fet. 

Having done this, the ground is pre* 
par'd ins the following rnanner 5 let your 
beds be fouir or five foot wide, and the al- 
leys between two or three more ; when 
you have marled, out your beds, you are to 
begin digging or trenching them only a 
fmgle fpit deep,keeping your trench open, 
at leaft two or three foot, as you do in 
common, garden-trenching 5 and having 
a wheel- barrow of dung, long and fhort 
mix'd together, always ftanding by you, fill 
the bottom of your trench therewith, up- 
on which dung you ate to place your 
potato-eyes, as they were before prepared, 
at about five or fix inches afunder, and 
when they cotne to grow , there will be 
produc'd not above qne or two toots at 
moft , but thofe large and well fed. 

To 



A SUTTLEMENT to 

\ To proceed; having planted one trench, 
with the earth that follows in the next, 
and which you mark out with a line at 
two or three foot wide, as you do in com- 
mon trenching, take that mold and throw 
over your potato's planted upon dung, as 
is before direded ; and fo proceed from 
trench to trench whilft you are gone quite 
thro' your bed. 

It is proper for me to obferve, that the 
ufe of this dung plac'd at the bottom, as 
I have dheded, is not only to make the 
roots grow fingle j but it has another 
convenience, and that is the making the 
potato's runandfpread themfelvesat juft 
liich a determinate depth, which is no 
imali advantage to them, in their grow- 
ing large. 

The laft thing to be done to them is in 
April or May (for you plant them in febr. 
or March) as you fee them begin to fpring, 
dig the earth out of the alleys, as you do 
your afparagus, and cover your potato- 
bed about five or fix Inches thincr, and this 
will give new life and vigour to the root, 
will deprefs the green from running too 
much to haulm, and will caufe the root 
to grow much the larger for it. 



And 



The Tradikal Kitchen Gardiner. ^^x 

And thus they have almoft double the 
crop of good large potato's, as you would 
have if you were to plant them proniif- 
cuoufly as we do in England. 

A potato requires little culture all the 
year afterwards, only the pulling out fome 
of the largcft weeds 5 and if they are a lit- 
tle in the fhade, to fcreen them from the 
drying heat of the fun, it is fo much the 
better 5 they are feldom, or never, that I 
can hear of, water d. 

As to beans and peafe, it might have 0/ beans, 
been noted, that the beft early bean is /^^^A 
that from Lisbon^ and fo call'd the Lis- 
bon or Tortugal bean, which bears well, 
and comes in early 3 and is a much better 
one to eat, than the hotfpur, Gofporty or 
Spanifh bean 3 but then for the main crop, 
the Windfor out does them all 5 and there 
fhould be fo much care taken of this in- 
valuable manna, that the owner may (as 
it is eafic and pradicable enough he 
Ihould) have thefe kind of beans every 
month j I may add alfo every week in the 
Summer, by fowing them one under ano- 
ther 5 but it muft be obferv'd. that they 
require a ftrong hearty land,or they won't 
be fo good, whereas the early ones will 
do bcft on fandy light foil 

As 



ASUfPLEMiUtto 

As to peafe, the earlieft and beft that I 
know of in England Is the feen hotfpur, 
fo caird from a place of that name near 
the T>eviz€Sy where tho' above eighty 
htiles diftant, yet they have them as 
foon as any where about Londdn. 

This kind of pea, is, I doubt not?, by 
this time plenty enough to be had in the 
feed (hops in and about London ; but if 
notjthey may be well furnifhed with it by 
Mr. Matthew Figgens at the Devizes 
eminent dealer this way. Where are alfo 
to be fold fome of the beft fruit and fo- 
rcft trees, that the Weft, or perhaps any 
other part of Englmd, affords. 

There is alfo another kind of pea I 
have omitted, which by the name feems 
to be of the North Britijh extraclion, and 
is caird Fraziefs nonfuch. It is a grey 
pea, and is planted muck in LeicefteYj and 
Nottinghamjhire 5 and may be had of Mr. 
John Kirk Gardiner at Nottingham 5 and 
I believe it is propagated alfo in many 
places in the Weft, though not known 
by that name. Its excellency confifls in 
f hi's> that if you ftick the haulm, fo as to 
keep if froiti running on the ground, the 
ftaiks will advance, and you may have 
^reen young peafe, one under another, 

for 



T^he Traftkal Kitchen Gardiner. 

for three or four months together fuccef- 
lively, and tho* a grey pea is a very good 
cater. 

And this muft be look'd upon as a good 
qualification, for that if your other kinds 
fliould by the great heats of the weather 
come in all together, here you arc furc of 
a fucccffion : but fome of thefe, and all 
other peafe, fhould be fow'd a little in tht 
fhade, to keep a fucceffivc crop back 5 
and this is all that I think requifite at 
prefcnt to add on this head. 

SECT. XL CHAP. LXXVIII. 

Of fever al incidental works ^ of that re- 
gular care that ought to be in a kitchen 
gardiner 5 and of the method which a 
gentleman may judge of the management 
of his garden, 

T^'Here is already, in a foregoing fefti- 
011, a particular method fet down 
for the fowing and planting of all garden 
feeds, and plants 5 but as there are many 
other incidental works, and a very uni- 
form and regular care that attends the 
propagation of kitchen vegetables, and 
in which, whoever is deficient, it is not 

likely 



A SUT'PLEMENT to 

likely his plantation fhould floiirifh 5 /not 
can any gentleman that has not been us*d 
to works of this kind, really judge when 
his fervant does right or wrong 5 or at lead 
wliether he takes all thofe preliminary 
lieps that are proper towards the attain- 
ment of that end, which after great ex- 
pence he expeds : For it is no incon» 
fiderable thing to undsrftand certainly, 
(which will be thefubjed of this and the 
following Chapter) not only what provi- 
fions a kitchen garden well maintain'd 
and order'd may furnifli us with in every 
feafon of the year; but likewifc what 
works, (as well as the feafons of fowing) 
are to be done by an able induftrious gaf- 
dincr : But yet (I fay) all this is not e- 
nough to make a gentleman fo knowing, 
as to be able to give himfelf the pleafure 
of judging certainly, by viewing of his 
garden, whether his fervant proceeds as 
he ought, or whether it be indeed well 
ftockM or no, as to want nothing it ought 
to have. Tho' in fine, (how careful foever 
a fervant is) we muft not exped always to 
find in it all the advantages we arc behold- 
ing to gardiners for 5 we know indeed, 
that it fhall bring forth provifion for the 
whole year ; but we know very well too, 

that 



The TraBical Kitchen Gar^diner. 3 85 

that for example, in the winter months 
we hardly fee any of its Produdions, the 
moft part of them being carried out, and 
laid up in ftore-houfes, and conferva- 
tories 5 and even, amongft the plants 
that are to be feen in it at other times, 
that have not attain d to their perfedion, 
which the unlearned owner might fup- 
pofe ought to make a figure in his garden 5 
tho' perhaps they require two or three, 
and fometimes five or fix months time to 
toive to itj then perhaps the honeft 
gardiner is unknowingly blam'd. 

Thus it is in the beginning of the fpring 
with all legumes or edible plants, and 
green things,and thus too it is in the Sum- 
meVy with the principal produce of other 
Seafons : upon which confideration, it 
can't be thought impertinent, nor unufe- 
ful to fliew yet a little more particular- 
ly, wherein confifts the excellency and 
acconipliihments of a kitchen garden,(and 
its gardiner) judging firft of the labour and 
works we ought to find doing in it 5 and 
then fecondly, what we ought to find in 
it every time we go there. 

As for the works of care that ought to 2'/"^^'"^ 
be done in this, as well as the preceding/// of a 
months j we fhould be fatisfied if we find . 

~ . garden tn 



A SUTT LEMENTto 



ill it a reafonable quantity of mofs, long 
ftraw, or ftraw-skreens, wherewith you 
may cover your peafe and beans in cafe 
of rigid fevere weather, alfo that the 
fquares of articiiokes and beet-chards be 
well cover'd with long dung 5 and in the 
fame manner alfo fellerV;, endive, com- 
mon parfley, c^c. particularly peafe and 
beans may be eafily fhcltered in all hard 
weather by mofs and fir aw throw^n over 
them, being firft of all earth'd up to the 
very top with the hoe ; and if the ground 
be coldifli or clayey land, drawn gently up 
with it. 

Thofe who fow their early cucumber 
feed on hot-beds, in order to cut the be- 
ginning of March, ought to have them 
ready to ridge out from the fecond bed 
the beginning of this month, and then 
they may cut them thus early, provided 
their plants be healthy, and not ftunted for 
want of regular heat in the bed. 

Now it is that winter collyflowers, let- 
tuce, forrel, mint, and the fallet furniture 
in frames or glafles are cover'd duly every 
night ^ for if it be done one night, and 
left undone another, it will do more more 
hurt than good. The fame may be faid 
of afparagus that is forced, which tho' the 
3 glalTes 



The Tra5tical Kitchen Gardiner] 

glaifcs be left teel'd up with a brick, to 
let out the lleam, yet the covering of 
mats fhouid not be omitted : likewiie al- 
fo thofe beds of this kind that are cold, 
and where the afparagus conies by nature, 
there fhould be a good covering of rot- 
ten dung to keep the froft out of the bed;, 
and to preferve thofe tender buds that 
fhcw themfelves firft. 

Alfo we ought to fee that all other 
kitchen plants are laid up fafe in fand, as 
carrots, parfnips, fome turneps, fcorzo- 
nera, falfify, skirrets, Cellery, endive, cS^r. 
for the weather may chance to be fo hard 
that there can be none taken up that rc« 
main without doors. 

The novelties of the fpring, fuch as 
cucumbers, melons, lalleting, &c. fhould 
be carefully attended. And if we find 
ail beds of forrel, parfiey, c^r. clean from 
weeds, and mixt with dung to preferve 
them 5 and fome beds of mint and tarra- 
gon, the alleys dug out, and hot dung 
put in to advance them, with glafs frames 
or bells over them 5 or fee fuch plants 
took up, earth and all, and placed on 
hot-beds, to bring it in early ; and, laftly, 
if we find the walks and alleys kept neat 
and ckaOj and garden tools or utenfiis 
C c 2 not 



A SUTTLEMENt to 

not ncglecled, what then ought not to 
be laid in praife of that gardiner ? 

But to proceed : This being the general 
account of what is to be done this month, 
let us defcend to fome particulars. 

To continue to make hot-beds for cu- 
cumbers, melons, and young falleting. 

To continue to make beds for afpara- 
gus, or to endeavour to forward it, by 
digging the cold mold out of the alleys, 
and putting in long hot dung. 

To force beds of forrel, mint, and tar- 
ragon, in the fame manner. 

To tie up with bands of ftraw, in fair 
w^cather, the tops of lettuce-leaves that 
have not cabbaged 5 as alfo endive, cher- 
vil, &c. and to lay a little long dung 
to help preferve thofe plants. 

To raife ftrawberries on hot-beds : And 
fome there are that fow parfley, with ra- 
difhes likewife, in cafe you are like to 
want that valuable pot-herb in the fpring. 

To cover peafe and beans by mofs, 
as before. 

To be always carrying dung out of 
the melonry, i^c. and digging and trench- 
ing your ground till it is done, which 
ought indeed to have been all ended the 
laft month. 

In 



The T?raBtcal Kitchen Gardmer, 389 

In and 2iho\xt London y in this monxh.Tbe I a I? our 
we muft certainly expcd to fee the be- 
ginning of a great deal of buille and 
adivity in garden-works, if the fnow and Februa- 
froft is over; and now it is that it wilV^' 
appear who are the gardiners that have 
been idle, by their not furnifhing us with 
thofc things which the skilful and dili- 
gent ones fupply us with 5 and by neg- 
leding to fow their grounds, which for 
the moft part lie unfown, tho' the wea- 
ther be open, and they have leifure for 
fo doing, towards the middle or latter end. 

There ought to be no more time loft 
in fowing of the firft feeds that are to be 
fown in the naked earth, and of which 
we have fpoken in the works to be done 
about the end of January, Good gar- 
diners ought to cover with frefli mold 
the cold beds which they have fown with 
their tender feeds, for fear the waterings 
and great rains fhould beat down the earth 
too much, and render its fuperficies too 
hard for the feeds to pierce and fhoot 
through: they fhould alfo bank up their 
cold beds tightly with a fpade and rake, 
to prevent hafty rains from fpoiling the 
form of them , and in fine, if they have 
iiever fo little of the fpirit of nsatnefs 
c 3 ill 



390 A SUTTLEMENT to 

in them, they fliould not fail to take 
away all the ftones and rubbifli the rake 
meets with in its way. 

The fquares defign'd for parfley, oni- 
ons, chibouls and leeks, and in fine, all 
feeds that are tedious in coming up, and 
for that reafon require to be fown earlier 
than ordinary, fhould be now prepared, 
becaufe they are long a rearing 5 fucli 
arc all forts of roots alfo, 1;/^. carrot s^, 
parfnips, beets, fcorzonera, (^c. 

Some time this month fow purflain, 
and be fowing a little radifli feed in warm 
places, to come one under another, eve- 
ry week in this and the following month. 

Mefnorandiim. Radifhes muft be tied 
up in bunches, and put to fteep in water, 
or elfe they will wither, and retain too 
biting a tafte. 

You ftill continue to make hot-beds 
for thefe and other fmall falleting ^ but 
they need not now be ftrong, and only 
cover d over with mats laid upon bended 
rods. 

The iahour It is nov/ time for one to give the fame 
andprofits ^^yj^^ ^-q ^i^^ couutry £^ardiner that lies 

of a kitch- r / Ti-i 

en garden morc dutant from London^ that I did to 
in March, the ncat-houfc or city one in the begin- 
ning of the laftmonth5 for as the foil in 

the 



The T radical Kitchen Gardiner. 391 



the country is generally heavier, it wou'd 
be to little or no purpofe to advifc him 
to fow as early as they do about town, 
where the natural goodnefs of the foil, 
added to the great quantities of dung and 
cole-afhes that are laid thereon, makes 
the ground much more mello v/ than coun- 
try foils are 5 but by the viewing (whe- 
ther or no the country gardiner has 
trenched and laid his ground in ridges ail 
the winter, fo as to meliorate and make 
it fit for ufc in the fpring) will be dif- 
cover'd his diligence and fore-caft^ as his 
neatnefs will appear aifo by the carrying 
of all thofe ftones and weeds that are ta- 
ken out of the quarters of his garden in 
fuch trenching. 

As in this month the fun begins to 
pleafure us both with indifferent fair and 
pretty long days, and nature begins to 
be vifibly warm and adive, fo alfo all 
good gardiners fhould with new applica- 
tion and frefh vigour beftir themfelvesin 
all parts of their gardens, and purfue thofe 
works that the inclemency of the feafon 
might not permit them to do inthelaft 
month 5 fo that if the extent of the gar- 
den be pretty large, and the number of 
labo^u'ers proportionable, you may with 
C c 4 pleafure^ 



392 



A SUTTLEMENT to 



plcafure, at one caft of your eye, fee 
them digging, making up, fowing, rak- 
ing, planting, howing, weeding, O'C, foij 
in fine, before this month be out, there 
fhould fcarce be a fquare or bed in the 
garden but what fnould be either fown 
or planted. 

All that was covered with dungfliou'd 
be now difcharg'd of its covering, and, 
it being pretty rotten, dug in to enrich 
the roots, fuch as afparagus, artichokes, 
and the like , for it now begins to be 
tedious, as foon as it ceafes to be necef- 
fary, and every thing that is hard ought 
to breathe the open air, which now be- 
gins to chear both animals and plants. 

Neatnefs and politure ought now par- 
ticularly to glitter every where, and ferve 
for a varnifh to the alleys and thedrefs'd 
grounds, that together with the firft dawn- 
ing of the rifing green that appears in this 
and the following month, is now fpring- 
ing out of the womb of the teeming 
earth, and nature is every where as it 
were in its youth and gaiety. 

I have been very particular in my 
monthly diredions, concerning the feeds, 
Csrc. to be fown and planted this month, 
which arc indeed aimoft innumerable? 

but 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 393 

but as I may have omitted fome things, let 
me admonifh that fellery, which is 
near a month in coming up, be now 
fown, if it was omitted in the months 
foregoing. 

Purflain fhould now be fown in great 
quantities ; and about the beginning en- 
dive 5 as fhould alfo a third or fourth crop 
of peafe, and in general all thofe that 
are large, as the ^utch admiral, egg- peafe, 
and the like 5 all in the bcft and richolt 
foils you have. 1 

In this month like wife you ought not 
to omit making your new afparagus beds, 
fowing great quantities of lettuce, flip- 
ing and planting out your artichokes to 
come in late : but as I have been very 
particular in thefe things already, I omit 
any farther mention of them. 

In this month (if the gardiner hzs^m-The hbs. 
ploy'd his time well in the laft) there is ^^ '^ 
not much to be done new, unlefs it be 2in.''htchen' 
augmentation of hot beds for melons znd g'^-'^'^f^'^ 
cucumbers. The fowing and planting bo- 
xage, buglofs and other feeds that come 
up quick, the tranfplanting beds of the 
roots of mint, tarragon and balm, or 
the pot-herbs thyme, fweet maijoram, 

hylTop, 

3 



394 ASUTTLEMENTto 

hyffop, ^c. for which the laft month was 
a little too harfh. 

The diligent gardiner does neverthclefs 
continue to fow his latter crops of peafe 
and beans, which he purfues all this and 
the next month. 

At the beginning of this month ridge 
your main crop of melons ; or it might 
have been done late in March, 

Now all forts of fweet herbs are to be 
fown. And the fowing of a few lettuce 
to come late in the year is ftili to be 
continued ; fome defer fowing the main 
, crop of kidney-beans till this month; but 
that might have been done the laft, in good 
rich foil and fine dry weather ; fome put 
dung in the bottom of the drills. 

This and the next months are remark- 
able for the pains and care the gardiner is 
at in keeping his young crop clean from 
weeds, and letting them at a due diftance 
one from another, and the plentiful 
fhowers that generally fall make this an a- 
greeable month. Make beds for mufh- 
rooms this month, if you have earth pro- 
per by you. 
labour At the coming in, and indeed during 
V' the continuance of this whole months 
; v.. . what contentment is there, that is not 
'dtuifAi:^. found 



The ^raEiical Kitchen Gardiner] 395 

found in ufeful gardens 5 and how great 
are the fweets and enjoyments v/c begin 
then to tafte \ there is now no longer oc- 
cafion to demand why fuch and fuch fpots 
of ground are yet bares becaufeyou are 
now going to be fupply'd with coliy- 
flowers, cardons, fellery, cabbage let- 
tuces, and even artichokes too, which 
could not appear more early; and now 
alfo purflain comes in in great plenty by 
nature to gild the earth, and offers it fclf in 
abundance to pleafure its mafter ; green 
peafe are like to fatisfy the longing appe- 
tite of the dainty pallate in abundance i 
and mufhroomsfhoot up in crowds. 

But how pleafmg foever thefe fcenes 
are, the gardiner had great need to be up- 
on his guard to prevent his garden failing 
into diforder, becaufe 'tis moft fure, that 
if they be not now extremly careful 
and laborious, there is no difafter but 
they may exped ; their melons ate not 
yet out of danger, tho* their cucumbers 
may ; pernicious weeds will in a little 
time choke up all their good feeds, their 
walks and alleys will be overgrown ; for 
which reafon it highly behoves him to be 
extremely watchful in the weeding, ma- 
nuring, cleanfing and howing of all his 

kitchen 



396 A SUTTLEMENT to 



kitchen crops, that the weeds get not a 
head upon him. 

He now makes a full end of flipping 
artichokes, to plant out for his laft crop 
towards Chrijimas. 

He alfo fows a great deal more lettuce, 
to come in late; and likewife the chief 
crops of endive and later fellery for au* 
tumn ; ftill continuing to plant out that 
which was fown in the former months 
in trenches or banks to earth up. 
labour xhc great heats of this and the follow- 
tft^kiub- '^^'^S nionths are fuch that it is impoflible 
e/i garden to be in the garden in the middle of the 
in June, ^^y^ \^ixh any pleafure : but what charms 
does the vifiting it morning and evening 
afford, when the cool breathings of a 
gentle Zephyr reign there with fovereign 
fwayl 

Ail the fquares of the garden are now 
cover d with green herbs,which compleats 
that natural tapeftry with which the 
ground is or ought to be adorn'd ; we 
gather, in all parts of the garden, fuch 
things as are ready and proper for it; and 
at the fame time, with an agreeable pro- 
fulion, diftribute all thofe plants that are 
become fo beautiful and accomplifii'd as 
to fill up other places, which we now do<. 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner, 

fo that there hardly ever remains any part 
or fpace of our garden void ; and nature 
now affeds no better divertifement thaa 
to be amazing us with miracles of fcrtilty, 
fo well affifted as flie is by the fun, that 
father of light ; only now and then the 
auxiliary refrefhment of convenient moif- 
ture is wanted ; that moifture which the 
propitious clouds fometimes abundantly 
pour down, tho' fometimes too the in« 
duftrious gardincr is oblig'd to fupply their 
deficiency in time of need. 

Now the cold beds and counter borders^ 
Icveird and adjufted fo even to a line, and 
fo well furnifh'd with cabbage lettuces, 
what pleafure do they not afford to thofe 
that behold them? That forefl: of arti- 
chokes of different colours, which appear 
in a feled and particular place, how much 
do they call upon us to come and admire 
them! and more efpecially to judge of 
their goodnefs and delicacy. 

In this month continue the planting 
out fellery and leeks in trenches, to 
whiten againfl winter, for the ufe of the 
cook in foups ; of which the London gar- 
diners make much money. Replant alfo 
your beet-chards, to be ready againft/f^- 
gujt. 

As 



A SUTTLEMENT to 

As for culture, grofs foils muft be often 
ftir'd and manur'd, or elfe they will grow 
hard and crack, efpecially about this time, 
this being the moft proper feafon of the 
year for luch ftirring and manuring. For 
which fee my diredions in thcVraBical 
Fruit Gardiner, printed for Mr. Wood- 
ward, at the Half- Moon overagainft St, 
^unftans Church in Fleetjlreet. 

The beft time to flir dry grounds in, is 
cither a little before or after rain, or e- 
vcn whilft the rain is falling, that fo the 
water may the more fwiftly penetrate to 
the bottom, before the great heat comes 
and turns it into vapour, and the fun cx^ 
hales it. And for moift foils we muft 
wait for hot and dry weather, to dry and 
heat them before we flir them ; and fome 
there are, and that with good reafon, 
that prick in a little fhort rotten dung, 
even then to enrich the ground, and to 
help to keep it moift and cold. 

Careful gardiners make dykes ( in alt 
cold grounds efpecially) to carry off the 
gluts of water that fall about this time 
in hafty fliowers, that fhall correfpond 
with th'ofe that are on the boundary or 
outfide of the garden. But if it be a hot 
light ground, then there fhould be con- 
veyances 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 3 99 



veyances to turn the water in to water 
the crops there growing, (as may be feen 
in my Fruit Gardiner ^ in the plan for 
watering gardens,) and the edges of 
the beds and fquares fhould be hollow'd 
up to hold fuch water ; on the contrary, 
the ridges, quarters or beds, in cold lands, 
fhiould lie rounding, to throw thefe fum- 
mer floods off. 

We may yet, towards the latter end, 
fow peafe, to have them in September y 
but it begins to be too late for beans ; 
however a few may be tried. 

Thefe months require a good deal oiTheidour 
application and aftivity inagardiner, m^ndpr^t^ 
many points that contribute towards the 
furnifhing a kitchen in the winter, tQin]\x\yand 
which they both contribute, which has ^"^'^^^ 
made me join them together. 

He is indeed released from all the trou- 
bles of his hot-beds ; but then there are 
continual irrigations and waterings requi- 
fite, not only to enlarge what is now 
coming to perfedion, but to preferve 
alive all thofe new-planted things that are 
defign'd for the winter ; in all which the 
gardiner will find himfelf continually en- 
gaged. 

About the middle or latter end of Jul)\ 

or 



4oc> 'A SU'PTLEMENf to 



6r perhaps fooncr, the greens of onions^ 
eari-ats, beets, parfnips, &c, fhould be 
trod or rowl'd down with a heavy wooden 
or ftone rowler ; or elfe their leaves fhould 
be cut fliortcr, to make the roots grow 
bigger, by hindring the fap from fpend- 
ing it felf above ground. 

Endive, and the later lettuces, are ftill 
fown, to have them good at the latter 
end of the year; as are alfo radiflies, in 
cool places, and well watered, to have 
them fit to draw towards the middle of 
Augufly or beginning of September, 

In Aiigufl many cabbage and colewort 
plants are fet out, for the end of autumn, 
or beginning of winter; and now and 
then fowing and pricking out favoys. 

Endive, and many of the late lettuces, 
are replanted towards the middle of Au- 
guft, for autumn and winter. 

The old Items of artichokes are now to 
be cut off, where the artichokes are ga- 
thered ; and the fowing fpinage, to be 
ftrong before the winter, is continu'd. 

Collyflowers are to be fown and plant- 
ed out, in this and the preceding months, 
at feveral times, one under another ; and 
the laft crop of fellery, endive and leeks^ 
for whitenings are to be furrow'd, the 

middkj, 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner, 401 

middle, or at fartheft the latter end of 
Auguft. 

The moderate temper of air which now The Mo: r 
keeps an agreeable medium between ^^.°/^\^ 
great heat of tiie dog-days newly pair, and en garden 
the bitter cold that is to brine on w inter, 

, . , , . r ' ' 1 ber and 

invites the inhabitants of cities and con- October. 
jfin*d places to fally out and breath the 
free air of the country , and tho* there are 
a great many curiofities of tlie garden paft 
and gone, yet there remains fome peafe 
and beans, abundance of artichokes, fome 
collyflowers, and fruits are yet plenty; fo 
that in fine, fuch is the cooinefs, ferenity 
and filence of thefe two months (cfpeci- 
ally O^obef) that I can t think it is exccll'd 
by any one of the twelve. 

But the induftrious gardiner is not with- 
out his fhare of the labour and toil of this 
month (I mean September) for as foon as 
any fquare is disfurniih'd of onions, gar- 
lick, fhallots, roccambo, &c. then pre- 
fently he is foUicitous to fill it again with 
fpinage, chervil, winter carrots, Wel^ 
onions, ire. for the fpring. 

The fame courfe is to be taken with 
beds where fummer lettuce has been, 
which fhould be fucceeded by a great num- 
ber of endive plants, winter lettuces, ra- 
D d diflies. 



402 A SUTT LEMENTto 

diflics, and the like. Thus far in general. 
But to come to particulars j now it is 
that frefli beds fliould be made for mufh- 
rooms, becaufe you may now find, on the 
downs, where their fibres are to be got. 

We continue planting out winter cab- 
bages and collyflowers, as alfo favoys. 

Late fellery, during this and the laft 
month, is bound up together with bands 
made of ftraw or mats, and being planted 
in a trench is earth'd up by degrees j and 
fo may leeks to whiten, and endive that 
ftands on ridges between the faid fellery. 

The beft winter endive, if it be a light 
foil, is fown from the middle of Auguft 
to the middle of September-^ but if it be 
on a ftronger heavier foil, it fhould be 
fown fooner j and this will keep while the 
Lent following ; whereas endive that is 
come to full growth before the cold wea- 
ther comes to flop it, is apt to attempt to 
Iced, and come to nothing. 

It muft be cover'd in frofty weather, to 
prevent the cold rotting it to the very 
heart ; which caution being obferv'd, it 
will keep long, even till its concomitant 
fellery is quite gone. 

I need but juft mention, that ail forts 
pf roots, as carrots, parfnips, fcorzonera, 

ftlfify, 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 



403 



falfify, potatoes, &c. (hould be taken up 
in one of thefe months, elfe they will 
grow worm-eaten and watry, and be 
fpoird; but the parfnip will keep longer 
in the ground than any ; all thefe roots 
fhould be put in fand, ftratum fiiper ftra- 
tum^ laid in an open cellar or conferva- 
tory, and cover'd over with clean wheat- 
ftraw in all frofty weather. 

The induftrious kitchen gardiner will 
alfo take all the wet days and convenient 
opportunities he can for roping his oni- 
ons, and tying his gar lick, fliallots and 
.roccambole up in bunches, to hang in the 
chimney, during the winter, inafmuch as 
that will prefervc them better than lying 
on a floor. 

That he is to gather in dry, thrafh and 
cleanfe all kind of feeds, I need but jufl 
mention. 

This month and the next I call a fcind&^/c^ r 
of an artificial fp ring for by means of^f*'^£^^^/ 
hot-beds we have all or moft of tiiofe^;^ 'ga^-dcn 
things that the real ipring produces ^ little ^/^^^^o''-"^" 
falletings, fuch as lop lettuce, chervil/""'' 
crelfes and muilard are weekly fown. 

The planting IcLtuce under frames and 
glaffes, under which there is little dung, 
is iftill continued, 

D d 2 As 



A SUTTLEMENT to 

As is alfo afparagus, as diredcd in the 
foregoing treatife, concerning that plant; 
as alfo beds of a flower degree of heat^ 
for mint (the feafon for lamb being now- 
coming in ;) as alfo tarragon, to mix a- 
mongft faliets ; forrel for feveral ufes be- 
longing to the cook ; endive, fuccory, 
Macedonian parfley, (^c. for the fame. 

The planting out of lettuces in good 
Ihelter, and over a little warm dung, to 
cabbage in the fpring, may yet be done, 
cfpecially in the beginning or middle of 
this month. 

As foon as the frofts begin to appear, 
you mull begin to ufc the fand, mofs, 
and long dung, which has been carefully 
brought before, and laid up in needful 
places 5 for example, if it be a little to- 
wards the North, to ferve inftead of a 
fmall flielter, till you cover them quite 5 
or elfe, if you are prefs'd with work to be 
done elfewhere, you mull: cover them 
prefently; always raking care, however, 
before we cover them, to cut off all that 
looks a little rotten or withered from 
them. 

A little of this covering ferves againft 
the firil attacks, but the careful gardiner 
muft redouble them as the cold augments. 

They 



The TraEiical Kitchen Gardiner. 405 

They who are not provided with long 
dung, may ufe the fcrapings up of leaves, 
fern, peafc-haulm, ire. but take care of 
mice. 

For the covering or fecurity of peafe, 
if the ground be heavy, fand them up 
to the very top, but not fo as to cover 
them quite, then lay a little mofs, which 
will be a very foft covering for them, and 
there will a proper quantity of air per- 
fpire thro', fuch as will keep them green, 
and not fuffer them to grow yellow j af- 
ter that, if the feafon be hard, you may 
lay on wheat ftraw or fern which you 
pleafe, for the mofs will preferve the 
heads of the peafe from bruifing. 

Beans may be preferv'd the fame way, 
but the coverings of ftraw fliould be laid 
by in fun-fliiny warm weather 3 and it is 
Well for peafe and beans both to be fown 
on the fide of grounds that are trenclVd 
into ridges, becaufe the ridge being on 
the back of it keeps off the Eaftern and 
Northern catting winds. 

Now bei2;in makine; beds for mufh- 
rooms, as direded, /». 325, 326, 327, i^c. 
of this treatife. 

If there are any artichoke-heads yet re- 
maining, take them up, and carry them 
D d 3 ii'-to 



A SUTTLEMENT to 

into your confervatory, with a bunch of 
mold to the root of each of them, and 
you may preferve them a month or fix 
weeks longer. The green kind are the 
hardieft for this purpofe. 

This is the month alfo for removing 
collyflowers with balls of earth to them, 
to be fet in beds of earth in the warm cel- 
lar or confervatory, to keep a month or 
two longer ; or they may be preferv'd a- 
broad, by large bells and a covering of 
litter over them. 

The beginning of the month, before 
the froft comes, you are to leave off ty- 
ing up endive, and towards the middle 
or latter end you muft take up fome of 
that which is the forwardeft, 1 mean of 
your foregoing crops, and put them in 
fand in your confervatory, as you muft 
do fellery, Sjjamfh cardons, leeks, e^r. 
that you may have them ready at the 
cook's command, in cafe of very hard 
froft and fnow 5 tho' all of them will 
keep well enough, efpecially fellery and 
leeks, in the naked earth, when well co- 
ver d. But it is to be noted, that when 
once fellery is whitened it muft be eaten, 
othcrwife it will foon grow pipey or rot, 
fo that this valuable root requires to be 

rais'd 



The TraHical Kitchen Gardiner. 407 

rais'd one under another as much or more 
than any other the kitchen garden pro- 
duces. 

Towards the middle or latter end ycu 
begin in good earncft to make your beds 
for the forcing; of afparagus 5 for the man- 
ner of which^fee SeB. III. Chap. XXXIII. 
I p. 172, (ire. of this treatife. 

The days being now very fhort, the in- 
duftrious gardiner fliould employ his ap- 
prentices and other fervants in working 
by candle-light till fupper-time, either in 
making of ftraw- fcreens and coverings 
for his fruit trees, or thofepeafe and beans 
that are grown high above the ground, 
or in roping of onions, placing roots, 
endive, &e. as before-mentioned, in his 
cellars in fand; for the works of the 
garden are many in the day-time. 

In this and the next month, ought your 
ground that is now pretty clear (the pro- 
duce having been carried into the con- 
1^ fervatory or eaten) to be well dung'd ( I 
mean thofe quarters that are in the moft 
need of it) and laid up in ridges or trenches 
for the whole winter; for the doing this, 
and laying all the kitchen garden clean 
and ready for the crops to be fown in Fe- 
brmry and March following, before 
Dd 4 Chrifi^ 



40S A SUTTLEMENT to 

ChriftmaSy and pruning and nailing comes 
\ in, fhews who is the induftrious provi- 
dent gardiner, and who not. 

To have radifhes at Chrijlmas or C^«- 
dlemaSy ^hty ftiould be fown on a hot-bed 
under glafles about the middle of tiiis 
month; and it is requir'd for radifhes (as 
well as for all other falletings indeed) that 
we muft beat down with a board the fu- 
perficies of the earth, to render it a lit- 
tle folid. 

Thofe that are fo curious as to prick 
in their radifli feeds at two or three inches 
diftance, two or three feeds in a hole, will 
not repent their labour. 
The labour We are nowarriv'd to the laft ftage or 

^^^^^k-uh ^^^'^^^^ y^^^'' ^ mean December y 

which ftill requires fome adivity in our 

^/j Decern- induftrious gardiner, whether it betovi- 
fit thofe things which he has call an um- 
brel or covering over in open ground, or 
what is his moft conftant and anxious care, 
his cucumbers, afparagus, lettuce, and 
mufihrooms, all growing on hot-beds, 
which daily and hourly renew his care, 
and to an honeft and willing mind his 
grateful task. 

If it be a pertinent caution given in all 
months to renew the care of that going 

before;^ 



The Tragical Kitchen Gardiner. 409 

before, certainly it is requir'd in this, for 
the earth in gardens is now ftrip'd of all 
its ornaments, and the froft, which is 
often fevere in this month, fpares no 
body's gardens, but unmercifully deftroys 
all it meets with, and therefore it con- 
cerns the careful gardiner either to finifli 
well the coverings, or to houfe all that 
was omitted in the month of November^ 
fuch as endive, cardons, fellery, arti- 
choke-roots, collyflowers, beet-chards, 
leeks, &c. 

And above all things, we muft be care- 
ful to prefervc all thofe novelties which 
we have begun to advance by art, as 
peafe, beans, cabbage lettuce, and little 
fallets, to avoid the difpleafure of feeing 
perifh in one bitter night what we have 
been labouring two or three irionths to 
advance. 

Some more early peafe, for a fuccef- 
fion, fhould now be fown; as alfo hot- 
beds made, for lettuces to cabbage early 
under fquare glaffcs or frames, to plant 
out in the latter end of January y or be- 
ginning of February, and to come in when ■ 
the winter lettuces are going, or gone. 

But thcfe and all other lettuces ought 
to be often vifitedj as does endive, &c. 

4 to 



A SUTT LEMENTto 

to pull off all the rotten leaves, other- 
wife one decayed leaf will foon rot ma- 
ny others, as it is obfervable in auricula's 
in the flower garden ; and the beds where 
lettuces are ftiould be often recruited 
with moderate heat, it being now a very 
tender plant. 

And thus have we gone thro' the la- 
bour, and alfo the profits that naturally 
occur in the whole twelve months of the 
year ; in which may be obferv'd the con- 
tinual care and concern that a good gar- 
diner is or ought always to be in; let us 
now know the particular produce of this 
his labour, and what every gentleman 
may reafonably expeft from this good 
management of his kitchen garden, in 
all feafons of the year. 

SECT. X. CHAP. LXXX. 

An account of the produce that every gen- 
tleman^ &c. may reafonably expert 
from the good management of his 

" kitchen garden in all feafons of the 
year, 

AS a well-managed garden, and the 
produce thereof, if in good fea- 
fons, and at proper times of the year, 

muft 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 411 

muft be a great fatisfadion to the owner, 
I thought I could not finifli this treatife 
better than by giving a fliort account of 
what every gentleman may reafonably 
cxpecl, by way of retaliation for his ex- 
pence, in every feafon of the year; pro- 
vided he be really at the charge of drain- 
ing his ground well (if it be a clay) ac- 
cording to the dircdions publifli'd in the 
TraBical Fruit Gardiner, under the title 
of fruit ; and provided the ground (if it 
be not naturally a warm fand;, but clayifli) 
be free from fhade, burn-bak'd, and 
mix'd with dung, cole-a flies, fea, and 
great quantities of other common or 
lighter fand, and that the ground be of 
a proper depth, and liable to be well wa- 
ter'd, and fenc'd in and fecur d by warm 
hedges or fences of reed, palC; wall, or 
otherwife ; to this may be added, that he 
be fure to 2;et the beil feeds in their feve- 
ral kinds, and trench in a good depth of 
long dung or litter, old thatch, or wafle 
ftraw or haulm, into thofe borders that 
are to be fown with early things, fo as 
to make the ground a little hoilowifli, 
and confequently caufe the fuperfluous 
moiilure to drain off apace ; that you 
have at hand all glaffcs and mats, mofs, 

bundles 



412 A SUTTLEMENT to 

bundles of ftraw, and the like, for the 
covering and fecuring your young and 
tender crops, and that your ground has 
been trcnch'd and expos'd to the froft in 
winter, and kept from weeds and well 
watered in fummer, then, and on thefe 
terms it is that the willing owner may 
expcd 

Froduce of In January, a continuation of all thofe 
January. j-QQts that wcrc laid in fand in the fore- 
going months of October , &c, red beet, 
fcorzonera or falfify, red and yellow car- 
rots, turneps, parfnips, &c, in plenty. 

You may have alfo fmall collyflower- 
heads, if you dig them up earth and all, 
in November y and put them in a warm 
cellar or confervatory. 

Spanijh car dons, or artichoke chards, 
are now alfo in feafon ; as is fellery, ali- 
fanders, endive, fweet fennel, common 
fuccory, and the like; as alfo heads of 
garlick, fhallot, roccambo, &c. out of 
the confervatory. 

You have in the open air cabbages of 
many forts, efpecially the favoy, a moft 
excellent lafting winter difli ; as alfo all 
the hardy kinds of lettuce, with leeks 
and fFelfl) onions, very hardy. 

On hot-beds you may have good green 

afparagus. 



The Tra£}ical Kitchen Gardiner, 413 

afparagus, if the weather be any thing 
tolerable andfrofty, near as good as that 
which grows in April or May. And by 
the help of hot-beds or heated path-ways, 
you may have very fine mint to eat with 
lamb (which is now plenty about London 
as alfo forrel, for foups, &c. little let- 
tuces, with tarragon, garden creflcs, and 
the like ; alfo chervil, an excellent aro- 
matick. 

There are likewife muflirooms upon 
beds made on purpofe, which iim^ ^c 
carefully kept covered with long dry 
dung, to prevent the hard frofts from 
fpoiling them. 

The produce of Febniary is fo nearr^^ p-c 
the fame with that of the laft month, that i^^^^l^^^ 
it need not be again repeated ; but by the 
diligence of the gardiner, who is cover- 
ing and uncovering his frames, from al- 
moft morning till night, all forts of young 
falleting, as radiflies, forrel, mint, ire, 
and afparagus, arc in great plenty. 

W e have now the enjoyment of thofe ^Xv^ ^.r*- 
lettuces that were fown on hot-beds, ^xvi duce of 
under fquare and bell glaffes, in the lat-^^^^^^'' 
ter part of the year; as alfo fomc radiflies, 
and other little fallctings fown the two 
laft months under frames and glalTes. 

About 



A SUTTLEMEMT to 



About the loth the induftrious gardiner 
cuts cucumbers. 

Forc'd afparagus is alfo now in great 
plenty ; as is mint, tarragon, forrel, ^c, 
but fellery begins to run to feed, and 
grow pipey. Some endive ftill remains 
to deck our winter fallet and alifanders 
or Macedonian parfley, if well managed, 
will fupply the place of fellery. 

Some fmall collyflower-heads are yet 
remaining, if your cellar or confcrvatory 
be large. 

Spinage has remain'd all the winter, to 
boil (and an excellent boil'd fallet it is;) 
and Michaelmas carrots and onions are 
now every day pull'd. 
pro- There are in this month abundance of 
radiftics, fpinage, and other fmall fallet- 
ings; and now mint, tarragon, forrel, 
and other edible herbs, come in in great 
plenty ; as does afparagus naturally rais'd ; 
and towards the latter end of this month 
we are looking after young bean and pea 
cods. 

By the beginning of this month alfo, 
by the extraordinary help of frames and 
glafles, may be expefted ftrawberries; but 
they fliould be mov'd, with clods of earth 
to them, in January y or the beginning 



The TraElical Kitchen Ga^r diner. 4 1 5 



of February, The Virginia is the beft 
for this purpofe. 

Cucumbers are now plenty; and by 
the aforefaid help of frames and glaffes, 
French or kidney beans will foon come 
in. 

Young carrots and radiflies, on beds 
temperately hot, now come in. 

This month is the moft flouriihing The pro- 
reign of the kitchen garden, for all forts ^/ 
of verdures and green things, as fallets, 
radiflies, afparagus, cucumbers, peafe, d^r. 
and ftrawberries are now plenty. As- 
paragus going off, cucumbers are now 
four or five a penny ; and the induftrious 
g^rdiner is often vifiting his melonry, to 
fee how foon he may cxpedt to cut, 
which may be about the loth or 12th. 

Spani^ cardons, bcet-chards, feliery 
and endive, begin now alfo to appear, 
for tlie furniture of the following months. 

The firft collyflowers from winter 
plants come in likewife in this month; 
as do alfo young carrots, and early-fowu 
turneps ; fo that in ftiort there is nothing 
now which you may not expcd, that is 
delicate and fine. 

In plain and open ground, and with-^^^ pro- 
out any artifice, you have now all forts j^^^^^ '-^ 
4 ■ of ' ^ 



416 A SUTTLEMENT to 



of fallctings, and herbs for the kitchen 
and diftillory. 

Abundance of artichokes from the old 
ftems that have not been tranfplanted this 
feafon. 

Great ftore of garden beans, French 
beans, and cucumbers, alfo young felle- 
ry and endive, comes now again in vogue. 

Purflain, Roman lettuces and cucum- 
bers, are now the chief fallet. 

Collyflowers are now in abundance; 
but are likely to be rivalled by the firft 
coming in of the hollow RuJJiii and B af- 
ter Jea cabbages, which are the neweft difli 
of this month. 

Young carrots and turneps are now 
plenty. 

"The fro- This month produces a full and ample 
^uce of fupply of whatever was wanting in thofe 
July. preceding. 

There are now great plenty of ftraw- 
berries, peafe and beans, cabbages, cu- 
cumbers, melons, and all forts of fal- 
lets ; alfo fome white endive, fellery for 
foups, radiflies, (crc. 

And now is the chief crop of French 
beans ; with variety of ^utch ^dmirzly 
marrow-fat, Sj>anijh, Morotto and wing 
peafe. • 

Nor 



The Tradtical Kitchen Gardiner. 4 1 7 

Nor is there any thing the kitchen gar- 
den produces, except afparagus, which is 
gone off, but what is in plenty, as are 
alfo fummer turneps and carrots. 

White endive and feiiery .now COniC m The pro^ 
in great abundance, to fucceed the let- ^^""^ 
tuces, cucumbers and purilain, which now ^^^^^ ' 
begin to go off. 

Some crops of collyflowers, tho' not 
many, ftill continue to fucceed one ano- 
ther, and cabbages are very plenty : the 
invaluable favoy alfo begins to come in 
after the borecole and broccoli, which wc 
have had for fome time. 

We continue ftill to have all forts of 
green herbs, and kitchen roots, as car- 
rots of two kinds, and turneps, in great 
plenty; alfo melons, pumpions, onions, 
garlick, fhallots and roccambo. 

Succeffive crops of beans, peafe, and 
lettuce, are ftill feen at the tables of the 
€urious; tho' now the owner of a gar- 
den muft begin to take his farcwel of 
every thing that is very good 5 except ar- 
tichokes from plants planted out in the 
fpring, with v/hich the gardens in and 
about L^^^^*^ are cloth'd for thefe two or 
three months. 



Beet- 



418 



A SWPLEME MT to 



Eeet-chards begin now to come in j 
and turneps and carrots are now plenty, 
and large, fit for a family , and cabbages 
are grown very large. The roots of fcor- 
zonera, falfify, skirrets, c^^. might have 
been ufed in this and the preceding 
month, but the firft of them is as yet a 
little bitter, except they arc well foak'd 
in water. Potatoes alio will now foon 
be in ufe. 

ne pro- Sellery, endive, faccory, and all forts 
duce of cabbages for foups, or otherwife, are 
ber. now to be had in great plenty 5 as is alfo 
fpinage, which is not fo apt to run to 
feed as in the foregoing months. 

Some coUyflowers are ftill remaining 5 
and now it is that favoys, turneps, and 
other winter difhes, take place. 

At the latter end alfo, the other dain- 
ties of the fummer being pretty well over, 
are the Sj^anifl) cardon, fome artichokes 
with their chards, and a great many ci" 
truls or pumpkins ; and now is the time 
for the pickling, mangoing, and flicing 
of all large melons and cucumbers, as 
well as thofc that are fmall. 

Red or white cabbage, kidney-beans, 
walnuts, coilyfiowers, famphire, &c. arc 
alfo now pickled. 

4 And 



The Vrattical Kitchen Gardiner, 419 

And there is yet a remainder of col- 
lyflowers, peafe and beans. 

There is in this month abundance Q^^he pro- 
fellery, endive^ fuccory^ chardons, arti- ^^^^^ of 
choke-chards, mufhrooms, and (tho' ra-^*^°^^^' 
ther too late for them, on account of 
tiieir cold quality) cucumbers and melons 
alfo. 

Now have we all manner of green pot- 
herbS;, as forrel, beets, chervil green or 
whitned, parilcy, chibouls, roots of fcor- 
zonera, falfify, skirrers, onions, garlick, 
flialiots and roccambo, to laft all the win- 
ter 5 as alfo carrots, turneps, parinips 
and potatoes, which are all dug up out 
of the ground, and put into fand in aa 
open cellar, or confervatory, this and the 
following months. 

Green fpinage is alfo an excellent difli 
in this and the following winter months. 

Neither is the induftrious kitchen sar- 
diner as yet without his crops of later 
beans and peafe. 

If the weather continues mild, arti-r^,. pro- 
chokes are not yet sonc off, tho' they ^'^^^ ^/ 
commonly termmate with this month, ^er. 

Cabbages, favoys, and winter cole- 
worts are now in great requeft 5 and the 
borecole and broccoli keep as yqt their 
:\ E e iabtin2; 



A SUTTLE-MENT to 



footing ; the firft will laft all the winter, 
and the latter is not very tender. 

Spinagc, endive, fellery and fuccory, 
winter lettuces, fallets and poc-herbs, are 
now the glory of the table, with a few 
collyflowers to help them out. 

Carrots, parfnips, potatoes, fcorzonera, 
falfify, skirrets, &c. are the food of this 
as well as of the other months both be- 
fore and after it. 

In wcll-manag'd gardens there may be 
yet fome pcafe and beans. 
^ro- By the afliftance of large open airy cel- 
lars, or confervatories, where there are 
heaps of fand to cover them, wemayex- 
ped to find fome of the produce of the 
other two months foregoing. 

Some of the onions,carrots,radi(hes,and 
broad-leav'd fpinagc, that were fown at 
Michaelmas y may now (in a good foil and 
feafon) be drawn to thin them a little. . 

Winter cabbages and favoys, being now 
nip'd by the froft, arc a dainty difli. 

A few fmall' headed collyflowers, bore- 
cole and broccoli, may yet be remaining. 

The chimney is now full of rop'd oni- 
ons, as alfo garlick, roccambole and flial- 
lots ; and in the open garden, leeks, cives, 
ghibouls, parfley, ^r. 

4 What 



The TraBical Kitchen Gardiner. 421 

What I have to add, to complcat this 
Supplement, is to obfcrve, that the plans 
bcforegoing have been chiefly calculated 
for kitchen gardens that are enclosed or 
wall'd in ; but to finifn this Treatife en- 
tirely, I have added one plan more of a 
villa or kitchen garden where its produce 
is rais'd promifcuoufly up and down in 
fields, where there is a choice of ground 
proper for all kinds of vegetables, fome- 
times by plowing only. 
, Thefe fields are fuppos'd to be enclosed 
(as they are often found) with hedges and 
hedge-rows ready grown, of great ufe in 
the breaking of thofe cold winds and 
frofts that retard and often fpoil the early 
produce of the fpring. 

It will be impoffible, in fo fmall a 
plate, to fet the following defign in fo 
perlpicuous a light as it might have been 
in a folio or large quarto edition; but 
the greateft and bed recommendation I 
can give of it is, that it is a faint copy 
of a very handfome and noble defign of 
this kind, beloneins; to a '^^ nobleman 
who has been pleas'd to honour this trea- 
tife in the beginning of it ; and much it 

* The Lord Bathnrfty at Riskins, near Colebrook. 



E e 3 



is 



A SUTTLEMENT to 

is to be v/iflVd, that the fmall room I 
have to allow for the folding of cuts had 
been greater- for then I might have. ad- 
ded his Lordxhip s whole defign, and an 
account of all the improvements made 
by hisLordfhip's own mod excellent taftc; 
but however, the following plan may 
ferve as a fpecimen of what this and fome 
other ^ noble Lords have and are fo Ju- 
dicioufly doing on this head. 

I have already taken notice of the fmali- 
nefs of the fcale, which is fuch that I could 
not have room to be very particular in c- 
very part of this dcfign j , but the whole is 
fo accommodated to the ufes and conve- 
nicncics of life, that befides the plate and 
the references that are to be found there- 
upon, there needs little to be added. 

The prick'd line at the entrance L, and 
other fide of the houfe, as well as thofe 
on each fide the parterre, and going down 
by the canal, is an arcade of limes or elms, 
kept down fo low that they may not fhade 
the quarters, and withal cut hollow into 
arches 5 they are now plac'd at about tv/en- 
ty five or thirty foot afunder, thefmallnefs 
of the fcaie not admitting them nearer ; 

* .The Lord Cobham, at his fine feat in Buckinghatnfiiire, 
and the late Lord Bolbibroke, at />^?c'/}' in Middle/ex. 

but 



The Tra5fical Kitchen Gardiner, 423 

but I would advife the planting fuch an 
arcade not above fixteen or eighteen foot 
wide, and the trees ten or twelve foot a- 
funder ; for by being kept cut level at top, 
they will the fooner meet, and fgrm a na- 
tural arcade, and fo fliade the ground the 
lefs; befides which there will bean imme- 
diate cover to the owner as foon as he is 
got out of his houfe; and the rows will 
befodetach'd from the angles of the honfe, 
and the parterre and canal, as not to make 
it look too narrov/ or pinn'd up. 

On the outer fide of each of thefe ar- 
cades, there runs a little hedge-row of a- 
bout fix or feven yards wide, thro' the 
middle of which there will be a private 
path of five or fix foot wide, or more ^ 
for as thefe hedge-rows, if to be planted, 
are generally of nuts, philbuds, chefnuts, 
and other ordinary, but ufeful fruits, there 
will be an agreeable pleafure in fuch a pri- 
vate retreat : but that may either be, or 
not be, as the owner pleafes ^ tho' a walk 
of this kind, a little detaclid from the 
middle one, 1 have obferv'd to have a good 
efFed, efpecially in the plantation of the 
Right Honourable the Lord Brucey at Tot - 
tenhamVsLrk in IVilts. 

Thro' the fields there are half-ftandard 
E e 4 fruit 



A SUTTLEMENT, &c. 

fruit trees planted, which form, fome cir^ 
cular, and others ftrait diagonal lines,with 
no other art or labour than the fowing 
the edges with parfley, time, or other 
fweet and fragrant herbs, every year : 
and if it be required, and the ground be 
a Tandy loam, or other light foil, thefe 
quarters may be laid out fquare, and fo 
order'd that they may be plowed. 
. In all the walks of this defign, and on 
each fide of the canal, may alfo fheep be 
fed, who will ferve inftead of mowers, 
little gates being fix'd wherever you enter 
the quarters, to keep them from going in 
there ; and on the top of the terraflcs that 
furround the building, there may be a 
little grilladc of iron, or a low pallifadoe 
of wood, to keep them from coming up 
too near to the houfe. 

Omne Uilit punEitm 

mifcuit utile diilci, 

Hor. 



THE 



THE 



IN D E X. 



A 

A C ETA R I A, or llilletmg, why fo called, 
Page 143. Their kinds, 244. The forts 
and quantity proper for every feafon of the 
year, 285". 

Artlcheaux^ or artichoke, the c)nara of the antients, 
whyfo call'd, lyz. Its kinds, ibid. Firft feafon 
of them, 15-6. Second or later feafon, 157, ^c. 

Afparagiis^ its derivation, 163. And excellence (from 
Pliny) ibid. Its kinds, 164. Wonderful pro- 
perties, (from Sethius) ibid. The bed feed, and 
manner of railing, 165-. The making of beds, and 
planting it, 167, ^c. Summer drelTmg, 169. 
Winter dreffing, 170. The excellence of that 
rais'd in the country, before that of London^ 171, 
The feveral methods of forcing or raifing it early. 

B 

BAthurfl^ Lord, his method of rural kitchen gar* 
dening, 421. 

Beans^ the faha of the anticnts, why io call'd, 223. 
Their kinds, and feafon of planting,- 224. Pythci>- 
gonu\ precept concerning them, to be taken iA 
a myftical fenle, ibid. 

Beet., its appellati.on, kinds and culture, 139. Pro- 
perties, and time of fowing, 140. 

Beet-chard^ what, 139. How rais'd, 141. 

Bohingbroke.^ late Lord, a defign of his LordOlip's 
now in. hand for rural kitchen gardening, 42i. 

Borecole^ 



The I N D E X. 



Borecole and Broccoli^ their kinds and manner of 
raifing, 1 34. Seed, and feafons for fowing it, 1 35'. 

Borrago^ borrago unde derivatur^ 298. Kinds and 
raifing, 299. 

Brajfica cabbage or coUyfiower, cur fie diSta^ 119. 
A difh in high efteem by Pompey^ Diofcorides^ 
ChryfippHs^ ^c. as defcrib'd by PUny^ ibid. Their 
kinds, 120. Properties, 121, ^c. Culture and 
management, 123. 

Buglofs^ its appellation, 299. Kinds and manner of 
raifing, 300. 

Burnety what, and how rais'd, 274. 



V-^ Calahajh^ its kinds, 113. 
Cardtius^ its kinds, properties, k^c. 327. 
Cellery^ or Seller)^ the apium italicum of the anci- 
ents, whyfo caird, 246. Its exceeding great vir- 
tues, 247. Seafons of fowing, 249. of blanching 
or whitening, ibid, planting and watering, 25'!. 
Chervil., its ufes, and how rais'd, 282. An excel- 
lent difli when whitened, 283. 
Chard, French.^ what. See beet. 
Chardon., Spamjh., or Carduus efculentMs., what, and 

how raisM, 160. 
Chibouk^ andC/'z;^/, what, and how rais'd, 274. 
Cicero on the word Efcidemus., 181. 
Citrul. Vide Calabajh. 

Coaftmary., XhtBalfamita of the antients, 307. 
Cobham^ Lord Vifcount, fome account of a defign 
, of his Lordlhip's, now in hand, of rural kitchen 

gardening, 422. 
CoUyfiower., different feafons of fowing it, 122. 

firft feafon, 123. fecond feafon, 124. third fea- 

f on J ibid, fourth feafon, 125-. fifth feafon, 126. 

lixth feafon, 127. 
Cucumber, its appdlation, from PAV_y, Banhinus., and 



C 




others. 



The INDEX. 

Others, 96. Its kinds, 97. Shape and nature of 
the beft feed, ibid. Earth proper for them, 98. 
Water, and watering, 99. Hot-beds for raifing 
plants, 100. Age and properties of its feed, 102. 
Time of fowing, 104. Ridging, 109. Seldom 
or never prun'd, iii. Of railing them in the car- 
lied manner, 370. 

D 

DUng more requir'd in kitchen gardening, than 
in any other part, 7. The great ufe of it, if 
alone, prejudicial to all vegetables, ibid, 

E 

Earthy the beft kinds of it for a kitchen garden, 3, 
The great advantages of freOi earth to melons, 
cucumbers, and all other kitchen plants, 103. 
Endive^ its etymology, 25-5'. . Kinds, ibtd. Proper- 
ties, 25'6. Soil and culture, 25'7. Seafons of 
fowing, tying up, ^c, ibid. 

„ ^ wild. See Succory. ' 

Efculents^ or roots, why fo called, 181. Their 
kinds and properties, 1S2. 

F 

FEbruary^ the works of it, 388. Labour and 
Profits, 389. Produce, 413. 
Fungus, Qi Muproom^ why fo call'd, 321. Its good 
and bad qualities, 322. The beft to eat, 323. 
A fine white kind growing in that part of Tork- 
pire caird Craven^ 324. bee more in Mujhrooms, 

G 

GJrlick, its antiquity and great ufe in life, 209. 
How rais'd, 210. 
Spamjh. See Roccamho. 
Glajfes^ for melons, ^c. how to be made, 5^6, 
Gourde and its kinds, 116, 117. 



The INDEX. 



H 



HArtfiorn^ how rais'd, its ufes, ^c. 281. 
Hyffop^ its derivation, properties, and manner 
of railing, 295-, 



JAnuary^ the works, profits, and produce of it^ 
347, 3Sr> 412- , . . 
Ireland^ the method of railing potatoes there, 373. 

June^ the obfervations and direftions of it, 35-6. 

Labours, profits and produce, 396,415'. 

Jnh\ the obfervations and dire£lions of it, 35-8. 
Labours, profits and produce, 397,416. 



Kitchen garden^ fituation proper for it, i. Ge- 
neral difpofitidn or profits, 2. Three levels 
proper for it, 3, 4, ^c. Method of preparing the 
worft of foil for it, 8. Kitchen and Laboratory, 
herbs for them, 290. 



LEgtimes^ £rom Farro^ whyfo callM, 220. Their 
kinds, 221.' Seafons of fowing, i^id. Re- 
quire an open free air, 2. 
Leeks ^ their good and bad properties, 210. Propa- 
gation and culture, 211. 
Lettuce^ the laduca of the antients, why fo calPd, 
260. Its kinds, 261. Its great virtues, 26a. 
Remarkable for its cure of the great Auguflus^ 263. 
Seed, feafons and manner of fowing, 265. Pro- 
ffer choice of ihem, ibid. Particular feafons of 
fowing, 266. Some to be tied np, 267. How 
to preferve them in- the winter, 268. 
Lamh kttnce^ what^ and how rais'd ; its ufe, 271. 



I 



K 



L 




The INDEX. 



Lop Lettuce^ what, and how rais'd, ^c. ihid. 
Lyfter^ Do6lor, an experiment concerning afpara- 
gus, 1 71. 

M 

M Allows garden, their antiquity and ufe, 146.. 
Their kinds, ihid. Time of fowing, 147. 
Marjoram^ etymology, kinds, ^c. 293. 
Marygolds^ the calendula of the ancients, why fo 
caird, their kinds, time of flowering, ^c, ,267. 
Melons^ their derivation, 47. Kinds, 49. Proper- 
ties, 95". Earth proper for them, 5-3, Preparing 
and mixing earth, ihU. Water proper for them, 
5-4. Frames and utenfils to be ufed, ff. Ridge 
frames for them, Seed, its age, property, 
manner of laving, keeping, ^V. 5-8. Time of 
fowing, 63. Making the nurfery bed, 64. Cul- 
ture after fowing, 66, ^c. Particular diredions 
for tranfplanting them after fowing, 69. Time 
and manner of making the fecond bed, ibid. Me- 
thod of pricking them out, 71. Diredions about 
watering, 72, 83. Time of watering, Tranf- 
planting into ridges, how, and when, 77. More 
cautions in watering them, 79. Method of prun- 
ing them the firft time, 80. The fecond prun- 
ing, 82. Monf. De la Quintinyc\ method ex- 
amined and explained, 84. How to make them 
fruit well, 85-. How long in coming to perfec- 
- tion, ibid. More diredions in the fetting of me- 
lons, 87. Wherein their goodnefs conhfts, and 
when and how to be gathered, 95'. A particular 
caution in faving the feed, 61. 
Mint^ its feveral kinds and ufes^^ 272. 
Morels^ fome account of them, 330. 
Muftard^ how rais'd, its properties, ^c. 28 r. 
Mufiroom^ their original and kinds, 32.1. Good 
and bad properties, 321,322. Methods of raifing 
them, from Lord Bacon^ 325". FvomthQ French^ 
by Quratlnse^ 327. From the Italians^ by Mi. 

Evelyn ; 



The INDEX. 



Evelyn ; from the prefent pradice, by Mr. Brad- 
ley and Mr. Fairchild^ 329, 330. From the Duuh^ 
Sc. 370. 

N 

November^ month of, obfervations and xiire^li- 
ons for it, 362. Labours and prolits, 403. 
Produdions, 419. 

O 

October^ month of, obfervations and diredions 
for it, 361. Labours and profits, 401. Pro- 
dudions, 419. 
Olitory^ or kitchen garden, its derivation, 116. 
Omon^ cepa^ why fo caird, 205". Its kinds, ibid. 
Its good and bad qualities, 206. 

P 

Py^rjley^ its kinds, 294. Virtues and culture, ib- 
Macedonian parfley, or alifanders, how pro- 
pagated, 25*3. Its excellence ufes, ib^ Why 
not propagated more than it is in England^ ibid. 
Vaftinaca or parfnip, carrot, ^c. Its derivation 

and culture, 184. 
Veafe^ the ancient pifum^ their etymology, 229. 
Kinds, 230.- Of their fowling, 231. Seafons of 
perfedion,-232. Different feafons of fovi^ing, 233. 
How to preferve them in the winter, 234. 
Phafeolus, or kidney-bean, why fo called, 236. Its 
kinds, 237. Excellent properties, ibid. Railing, 
238. Particular culture, 241. 
Potafo^ or Battata^ the fifarum pertroianum. of the 
ancients, its etymology, 217. The foil proper 
for them, 219. The method of railing them in 
Ireland., 373. 
Tumfion.^ or Fumpkin, its name, kind and culture, 

Purjlain^ 



The I N D E X. 

Purjlain^ its derivation, iifes and kind, 283. 
Pythagoras^ his precept, forbidding the iife of beans» 
not to taken in a iiteraly but myftical fenfe, 

.hnr:r?J .^rjocv 

Quarters ordivifions, the feveral forts of kitchen 
. plants proper for them, 5-. , 
Quarters of the year, falleting proper for each of 
them, 285-, 286. , ; 

RAdip^ its etymology, kinds and culture, 
its virtues and vices, 192, Time and feafou 
of ioWwy^y feed, l^c. 128. 
JR,occamboy or Spanip garlick, why fo called, 207 
Its excellence and ufes, ihid. How propagated^ 
-208. 

Rocket^ garden, the eruca of the ancients, what, 
and how rais'd, 276, Its great efficacy in vene- 
real embraces, ibid. 

S 

SAge^ the fahia of the ancients, u'/^de derivatur^ 
301. Its great virtues, b'^r. ibid. 
Salleting. See Acetaria. 

Sardimaj King of, dogs kept, by him for the difco- 
very of fubterraneous tubers, as morells, truf« 
fles, ^fc, , ; 

Savory J its etymology, kinds, Qjfc. 

Savoy cabbage, its excellencies, feafons of lowing^ 

QSfC' 130. 

Scaliger on the word e[culentus^ 182. 

Schrevelius on the fame, ibid. 

Scorzonera., what, 196. Its virtues and ufes, i97» 

Propagation a^nd culture, ibid. 
Sorrel^ Its etymology, kinds, ^c. 149. 
Spinage^ its derivation and kinds, 142. great ufes^ 

tho' not known by the ancients, 143. 

T'arragon^ 



The I N D E X. 



T 

TArragon^ what, and how rais'd, 273. 
"Thyme^ the ferpllum of the aucients, its ety- 
mology, kinds, ^c. ■iS)z. 
Tubers^ fubterraneous, where found, 331. 
Tumefy its derivation and kinds, 199, l^c. Times 
of lowing, 202. Methods of preferving them 
from the black fly, 203. Their ufes in feveral 
cafes, 204. To make bread of them, from the 
Trayjfadtons of the Royal Society^ ibid. 

w 

W Ater^ its ufes and conveniencies in a garden, 33. 
How difcovefM, 36. The good or bad 
qualities of it owing to different foils, 37. A 
method of the ancients for finding out bad wa- 
ter, 40. Its ufes in vegetation, 42. When im- 
pregnated with feveral forts of dung, ^c. good 
for kitchen vegetables, 44, ^c. 



F I N I S. 



E R RATA, 

pAge 9. towards the bottom* for Smhury, read Secombury. p. 80. for 
^uintmgt, T.^intinye. p. 113, and 279. for Mr. Lowder, r. Mr. 
London, p. i66. for tjt^ worthy fritni, r. my latt worthy friend, Mr. 
Jacob Wrench. Supplement, p. 37^. 1. IJ. for jowf, r. /ow. p. 380. 
J. 14. for thimer, r. fhicker. 



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